Chapter 15

As the day of Tom and Yolanda’s wedding approached, activity around the Hacienda exploded. We were expecting fifty people from Las Cruces to begin arriving three days before the wedding, all expecting accommodation at the Hacienda. Luckily most of those people were Yolanda’s extended family, so putting as many as five or six into a single room wasn’t going to cause much concern. Regardless, for the very first time, every room in the Hacienda was going to be used.

Every room was assigned to a specific group of people, aired out and dusted, the beds made, extra sleeping pads, sheets, pillows, and blankets added, and the rooms generally made ready for use. We bought all the oil lamps Mrs. Amador could find in Las Cruces and had them delivered to the Hacienda to use in the rooms, and to light the courtyards and terrace on the night of the wedding.

Food was brought in by the wagon load, as Anna and the ladies came up with menus for six nights, to feed the horde that would be staying with us. Unbeknownst to me, Anna had bought sawhorses and planks to make enough tables for all the food the villagers were bringing. Most of the tables and benches would be out on the lower plateau, while the courtyards and terrace would have our normal tables for the wedding party and special guests to use, before the music and dancing started. For a week, every time I walked out on the terrace, something had been changed on the terrace, lower courtyard, or lower plateau.

Our guests started arriving during the early afternoon, three days before the wedding. The entire Mendoza clan and Tom’s father arrived at one time, in a train of four wagons. This was the first time any of them had been to the Hacienda since it had been completed and even then, Mr. and Mrs. Mendoza only had an idea of just how big it was going to be.

Anna and I had fun as we watched the clan coming to grips with the Hacienda, as they were shown their rooms and settled in. Izabella was introduced to everyone, as was Alejandro when he got back from school. Izabella had healed enough to not have any pain from just walking around and was looking forward to the wedding and the party afterwards.

She was quickly swooped up by the girls of the Mendoza clan near her age and borne away to the upper courtyard. That quickly became their domain while they were at the Hacienda. The women congregated in the kitchen as expected and worked on a new kitchen dance in a different kitchen with different participants.

The men - except for Mr. Mendoza, Mr. Garcia, and Mr. Murphy - had moved the wagons down near the corral, organized a wagon yard, and were making sure all the animals and tack were taken care of. I took the three older men into the study and closed the door, telling them this was a place of refuge while they were here. They smiled as they took a seat, and I poured everyone a small scotch. Mr. Murphy really appreciated how good the scotch was, while the other two weren’t really drinkers of anything but beer, and even then, only rarely.

Mr. Murphy asked where Tom was, and I told him he was checking the village, the dams, and the quarry. Mr. Garcia wanted to know where the cousins were and was surprised to find out that half of them were living in the village while the other half were living in the traditional way all over the Estancia. I offered to take all of them on a tour of the Hacienda this afternoon, but they all begged off until tomorrow saying they’d had enough riding for today.

Tom’s father wanted to know about the bearskin rug and was suitably impressed when I was done with the story. After relaxing for thirty minutes they all wanted to go outside and walk a little bit. So, I took them upstairs to the upper courtyard, stopping in the kitchen on the way and asking for coffee up on the terrace. We ignored the gaggle of girls in the courtyard, and walked the upper walkway along the walls, where they could see the grassland with the Robledo Mountains rising at the far end.

When they were ready to sit down, I took them back to the terrace and we found seats at the table where the coffee was waiting for us. We spent what was left of the afternoon talking and I answered all their questions about the Estancia, including where everyone lived, how we were organized, the building projects that were currently in progress, how many head of cattle I planned on running, and how all the various groups of people were fitting together. We were joined soon after we sat down by the rest of the Mendoza men.

When we were talking about cattle, I mentioned that Hector was a month overdue, and we were starting to get worried. Mr. Mendoza told me that moving that many cattle and people was a herculean task, and there were bound to be problems that had to be overcome along the way. He suggested I give them another sixty days before starting to worry.

Tom, Giuseppe, the Padre, Esteban and Ed arrived an hour before supper, and joined us after cleaning up. Tom’s father was surprised to learn that I was the US Marshal for the southern half of the territory, and even more surprised that Esteban and Ed were on the Estancia learning things they needed for their new jobs as Deputy Marshals.

The two took Mr. Murphy through all the things they had learned, were in the process of learning, and how it all applied to their jobs. Ed laughed when Mr. Murphy said that he never knew there was so much to know for the Marshal’s job. Ed told him that no one was more surprised than he was at how much there was to learn and how it all applied to tracking fugitives.

With all the visitors, there was no way we could use the dining room for meals. So, when it got close to suppertime, the men all helped me set up the tables and benches in the lower courtyard. When we were done the younger ladies, including Izabella, set the tables with plates, glasses, silverware, and cups. Finally, the ladies came walking out, loaded down with platters and bowls full of food. We all sat down, the Padre gave a brief blessing, and we dug into the feast of steak, and potatoes au gratin the ladies had prepared.

The courtyard was filled with a cacophony of conversations in at least three different languages for the rest of the evening. Tom’s father expressed surprise at how well everyone seemed to get along, and that they all seemed to be able to switch between languages with ease. He was even more surprised when he asked Tom what language Alejandro, Angelina, and Carlo were using at the time, and he was told they were speaking Apache.

The evening wound down, as it always did, with the children leaving for bed. Eventually, the tables were cleared, and folks started leaving for their rooms, until there were only a few of us left. Tom, Giuseppe, the Padre, Esteban, and Ed helped me move the tables and benches off to one side of the courtyard, so those coming for Tai Chi in the morning wouldn’t stumble across them.

The next morning was a repeat of the previous night’s supper in the courtyard. The children all groaned when they discovered that they would be attending the village school but loaded up the wagons and drove off without too much fuss. The Padre led the procession of wagons from the Hacienda to the village school. Anna and I led all who wanted to go, on a tour of the Estancia.

The village was a revelation, as were the school rooms. We met Jesus in the plaza, and he talked about the upcoming Alcalde election, and the church that would be built next year. Lupe greeted everyone and showed any who were interested the village store, while others walked over to the stable area and watched Heinrich and his stone masons build the long-walled building that would eventually be the stables, blacksmith, wood shop, and wagon maintenance buildings. Anya and Sofia answered all the questions about the school, the languages that were used, the subjects that were taught, what ages the children were, and how many hours a day the kids were in school.

We left the village ninety minutes later and rode to the dams where Tom and Giuseppe explained how they’d come about, the future plans for the water, and how each dam supplied excess water to the lower dams before flowing into the river. When all the questions were answered, we crossed the river and rode over to the Ranch Operations area and let them look through the empty buildings waiting for Hector and his people to arrive. That ended the tour, and everyone followed us back to the Hacienda, where we broke into separate groups depending on the various interests. I took Mr. Mendoza, Mr. Garcia and Mr. Murphy back up to the terrace, where they gratefully took a seat that didn’t move underneath them and relaxed with fresh coffee that Celia had brought out.

Mr. Garcia disappeared for the afternoon, with Miguel and Maco turning back up on the terrace, just before supper. The rest of us spent the afternoon relaxing on the terrace. At supper, the horde was joined by Miguel and Maco along with Heinrich, Anya, Jesus, and Lupe.

Later, as we were getting ready for bed, I told Anna that keeping everyone entertained was hard work. She laughed and told me she’d discovered some new ‘possibilities’ and hoped I wasn’t too worn out to explore them. I wasn’t, and we did, falling into a deep sleep afterwards.

Yolanda skipped Tai Chi and practice the next morning, but Tom was there as usual. As the three of us had coffee on the terrace while we cooled down, I looked out over the river where the sun was just beginning to peek around the sides of the Doña Ana Mountains. I couldn’t help but hope all of my future kid’s wedding days were as glorious as today.

Yolanda was missing from breakfast as well, and I raised a concerned eyebrow at Anna who just smiled and told me that it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony. I snorted, then straightened my face and nodded in agreement. The Wedding Mass was scheduled to start at ten, so I expected things to get hectic in just a short while. I wasn’t even finished with my after-breakfast cup of coffee before people were moving in all different directions.

The Padre was telling someone how to position the prie-dieu. Anna was directing placement of the tables around the courtyard, while her grandmother was directing the placement of tables out along the lower plateau. The Padre had moved on to directing alignment of the benches as pews when I looked over at Tom and told him it was a good thing he only had to go through this once in his life. He nodded and said he was getting tired just from watching all the activity. I suggested to him and the others that we go up to the terrace and have our coffee up there where we couldn’t be seen and pressed into service.

Mr. Mendoza laughed and told me I was finally starting to get the hang of being married. We all went inside, where I poured two coffee pots full of coffee from the giant urn on the stove. I put them, along with cups and the fixings, in the dumb waiter. I joined the others upstairs, making a couple of trips to carry everything from the dumbwaiter to the table. Tom and Giuseppe had moved the tables closer to the French doors, to get out of the immediate line of sight of anyone below. The six of us were content to listen to the hustle and bustle below while we drank our coffee and relaxed in the early morning sun.

The villagers started arriving with the women carrying covered bowls and platters of food that they distributed to various tables around the courtyard, based on some arcane formula that only women understand. At nine, I got up and told everyone that I needed to go get ready, and I’d see them downstairs.

I took a nice hot shower, shaved, and donned my green double-breasted suit, walking downstairs with ten minutes to spare. I found Tom looking around with a bewildered look on his face. He turned to me and asked if I had any idea where he was supposed to be. I just laughed and took his arm, leading him to the prie-dieu near the edge of the plateau before telling him to stand there until the Padre pronounced him and Yolanda man and wife.

Anna, leading Tom’s father, came over to the first bench where I was standing. We sat until the mason’s violin players started playing the wedding march. We all stood up and watched as a resplendent Yolanda came out of the courtyard towards Tom, escorted by her father.

I don’t think she took her eyes off Tom the entire walk, and I know for certain she was beaming her special Yolanda smile straight at him. The Padre took the informal setting in stride and did a commendable job with the Mass. Eventually, he got to the part everyone was waiting for.

Anna and I stood up and walked to Yolanda and Tom’s side giving them the rings when the Padre asked for them. They exchanged their vows, and he pronounced them man and wife. I’m not sure who was happier, Tom or Yolanda. They both had huge smiles on their faces while walking up the makeshift aisle to the courtyard, before turning to greet everyone who filed past and offered their congratulations.

The rest of the day was a boisterous affair of food, music, and dancing. Anna and I sang “Endless Love” as requested by Yolanda and followed it up with “10 Minutes Ago”, and “When a Man Loves a Woman”, before we let the violins have the stage.

Between relatives and the villagers, Anna and I danced nearly every song, but rarely with each other. Later I played the guitar in accompaniment to Anna singing “The River”. Near the end of the evening we joined forces to lead the kids in “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and afterwards did a duet of “Mi Vida Loca”.

No one was sure when it happened, but Tom and Yolanda left somewhere between supper and the last song. Somehow, with over one thousand people in the Hacienda and on the lower and upper plateaus, no one saw them leave the party. I told Anna later that night, that we needed to learn that trick.

Tom and Yolanda did show up for breakfast the next morning, both with large grins on their faces. They were the last to show up and before anyone could even get a word out, she just shook her finger at the entire courtyard telling everyone to mind their own business, and she didn’t want to hear a word. Anna looked at Yolanda when Tom had seated her and said her comment sounded familiar. Yolanda chuckled and said she had Anna’s example to go by.

I was never sure what the ladies did for the next two days, but Tom and I spent both days setting off charges at the quarry, creating a huge stockpile of stone for the masons to use while he and Yolanda were in El Paso. I actually learned a lot about blasting during those two days. I took the opportunity to talk to him about the small pipes, and the possibility of using them as grenades. He looked thoughtful when I brought the subject up and said he thought they could be easily used in that manner.

I explained that I was thinking there had to be enough blasting powder in the pipe to blow the pipe apart, but that the rest of the pipe needed to be filled with shotgun shot. With the right mix of shot and powder, the shot, along with the pipe casing, would cause the actual damage, although the explosions would add a fear factor that couldn’t be overrated.

The second day I brought six small pipes, powder, fast burning fuses, and both double ought and number three buckshot to the quarry with us. In between the blasting we tried three different combinations of powder to shot mixture for the two types of shot. We spent an hour creating targets by weaving limbs together into large rectangles about the size of a man’s upper torso, and then planting them on sticks at the bottom of the quarry. We put six of the targets in a fifteen-foot circle and tried the first grenade using a seven second fuse and discovered that the landing knocked the fuse out of the hole before it could explode.

A five second fuse worked well with spectacular results for all six of the tests grenades, but the best results came from using the number three buckshot with the mix of powder in the second of the three attempts. I wrote down the recipe in the journal I carried in my saddlebags and told Tom to keep quiet about the grenades. I didn’t think we’d need them anytime soon, but I was sure that eventually we would be using them.

Tom, Yolanda, the Mendoza clan, and Mr. Murphy left the next day, and the Hacienda soon settled back down to normal. Anna and I continued our morning rides and her early afternoon Krav Maga lessons.

I spent the rest of my time working on coming up with a useable and useful personal first-aid kit, small enough for everyone to carry without notice during their daily work yet cover as many injury and sickness possibilities as possible. I wanted to include bandages, two needles with thread for sewing wounds shut, and two different sizes of bottle brushes for cleaning wounds. I also wanted carbolic acid in the kits for use as an antiseptic, and willow bark as an analgesic to help fight fever and pain.

On our next trip to Las Cruces, Anna and I spent almost a full day at Mrs. Amador’s store researching the supplies I was thinking I’d need for the first aid kits: waterproof canvas, butcher paper, bottle brushes, sewing needles, and thick white thread were no problem at all. We did, however, spend quite a bit of time talking about carbolic acid, which she sold to ranchers and stables who used it to control the smell of manure piles. She sold carbolic acid in large gallon bottles marked as fifty percent solutions, and by the pound as solid crystals.

With that information, we turned to look at her stock of small empty bottles. I selected a clear one-ounce bottle with a watertight stopper and bought two of those. Our final purchase was a bolt of clean white cotton cloth. We rode back to the restaurant with our purchases and went into the family dining room to work on combining everything into a compact kit.

After a couple hours of work, we finally settled on two pads of folded cotton, two strips of cotton five inches wide by two feet long folded into two separate packs, two of the one ounce clear bottles, two different sized bottle brushes twisted inside butcher paper, a small empty envelope of butcher paper that I’d later put Vicodin in, twelve twists of butcher paper each holding two teaspoons of willow bark, and a butcher paper envelope containing a needle and two feet of thread. We wrapped each item, except the bottles, in canvas and tied them in squares or rectangles using twine from the kitchen.

When we were done, Anna recommended we visit Dolores Delgado, and see what she could come up with that would allow us to keep everything together in a small compact package. Gathering everything together we walked down to her leather store. She welcomed us like long lost family which, in a way, I guess we were.

While explaining that we were after a container to hold everything she saw in a nice compact bundle that could be carried in saddlebags or courier bags, I laid everything I was carrying on her counter. Dolores looked at everything and started to arrange the items into something that would help her visualize a three-dimensional case.

After a minute or two she left us and went into the back, returning with two fairly stiff leather cases that closed shut using two long rawhide ties hanging from the flap. She told us they were cases for sewing supplies that she had just finished and could be the basis for what we wanted. She opened the smaller one and showed us the loops for storing spools of thread and the pockets for storing different sized needles and scissors. Anna liked the look and the way everything was stored but suggested a top opening case with sewn in loops for the two bottles, a pocket for the twists of willow bark, and everything else packed tightly into the case. She demonstrated the layout she was after with the packets standing on their sides instead of laying down flat. She also wanted the top to have small flaps on the front and sides so that when it was tied closed, the flaps protected the contents from dirt.

Anna took up the paper and pencil on the counter and drew a quick sketch of what she was talking about. Dolores looked at it for a minute and then nodded, saying that wouldn’t be a problem at all. I asked her how long it would take to make two prototypes with the usual Dos Santos brand on the front flap. She said she could have them done in a week and started to talk about the price.

I stopped her and pointed to Anna, saying she was the negotiator in the family. However, before they started talking prices, she needed to know that, if we liked the prototypes, we would be ordering one thousand of them. That set her back on her heels for a moment, as she was still working on the courier bags at a rate of twenty per month. She’d been delivering them for seven months now and only had a hundred and fifty more to make. I gave Anna a quick kiss and hug, telling her I was going to go back to Mrs. Amador’s store and start figuring out how much of the medical supplies to order, while she haggled with Dolores.

Mrs. Amador was smiling when I walked in and asked if I’d forgotten something.

I grinned and said, “I forget things all the time. In this case though, I want to place an order for more of the materials we bought earlier, and have it delivered with your normal supply runs to Lupe’s store.”

I made sure she understood I would pay for this separately, and it should be boxed separately and clearly marked to get my attention. When she said she understood, I told her the easy things were 1000 of the clear 1-ounce bottles with stoppers, 70 pounds of dried willow bark, 500 of the bottle brushes in each of the two sizes we’d bought earlier, 500 packages of needles, 50 spools of heavy white thread, 5 rolls of butcher paper, 4 rolls of kitchen twine, and 8 gallons of 50 percent solution carbolic acid.

When she was done writing that down, she helped me figure out how much waterproof canvas and white cotton cloth I needed to order. We’d just finished up when Anna walked in the store. I turned to give her a hug and kiss. Mrs. Amador welcomed Anna, and then told me it would take three or four months to get everything in the quantities I wanted, but she’d start shipping partial amounts with the next delivery to Lupe. I told her that was perfect and left the store with Anna on my arm.

I played the guitar after supper that night, singing Anna’s favorites without even being asked. When I was done, she asked what prompted me to play tonight. I told it was just because I loved her, and I knew she liked those songs above all the others. Bingo! A huge super megawatt Anna smile beamed to me.

As we were walking over to the house, I grabbed Anna in a big hug and gave her the best kiss I could. When we came up for breath, she told me in a husky voice that she hadn’t told me to stop. So, I kissed her again, before grabbing her hand and running into the house and bedroom, where I told her there were a few ‘possibilities’ I wanted to explore.

We left for the Hacienda the next morning, after a great breakfast. We let the horses set the pace as we talked about nothing in particular. Nothing in particular that is, until Anna asked me what the plans were between now and mid-February, when we were planning to leave on our circuit of the southern territory.

I started to make a quip about exploring possibilities but saw that she was serious. So, after a few moments of thought, I told her that for the next three weeks I was going to continue the morning rides, afternoon Krav Maga lessons, and continue to refine our five-year plan.

After that, Yolanda and I were going to be in Apache training for four weeks and then have a break for two weeks to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s. Then it was five weeks of scout/sniper training. When that was done, I would rest up for a week before we started our trip.

I asked her what she was thinking, and she told me she was worried about Hector and the vaqueros. I told her what her grandfather had told me, and then said that if they weren’t here by the beginning of the year I would not go through the scout/sniper training. Instead, the two of us would travel all the way to Chihuahua if we had to, searching for Hector. She liked that, calling it a good compromise.

We spent the next week doing exactly as I promised. She seemed content, but the worry was growing in both of us. Tom and Yolanda arrived back as scheduled, and quickly settled back into the routine. I brought them both into our afternoon Krav Maga sessions and they enjoyed the additional activity.

My planning was nearing the point where I was satisfied with it. I knew that things were going to change every year, but at least we had a starting point, now.

The teams were busy piling stones near the river and were making astounding progress. Heinrich and his team were moving right along on the village stable complex. At the current rate of work, they would have it finished by the first week in January, when they’d start on the Finca storerooms on the other side of the village. Giuseppe had completed his search of the Robledo Mountains for the right type of rock for building roads and had moved his search over to the Doña Ana Mountains. He was spending two or three nights at a time with his apprentice, and one team of the cousins to provide security while they searched.

Overall, with the exception of our worry about Hector, things were progressing well.

Tom and I were sitting on the terrace enjoying the late afternoon sun one afternoon, just after Tom and Yolanda had returned from El Paso. One of the cousins came trotting up. It was clear he’d run several miles, as he stopped to catch his breath. He then told us that many wagons, men on horseback, and cattle were coming from the direction of Las Cruces. He thought they’d be here late the next morning.

I clapped him on the back telling him that was good news, as it was another of Anna’s cousins bringing us more families and cattle. He grinned and walked off after having a drink of water.

I went down and found Anna in the kitchen, involved in the kitchen dance. I just watched for a few moments, before I told her that we might have one or two more for supper tonight, but would definitely have more for all the meals, starting with lunch tomorrow.

Anna cocked an eyebrow at me. I smiled, telling her Hector was on his way, and the cousins expected them to arrive sometime late tomorrow morning. She was thrilled, and I could see the worry lift from shoulders. She gave me a tight hug and a brief kiss, before waving me out of the kitchen, so they could get back to work. No one showed up from Hector’s group for supper, but that was okay. We knew they were close.

The six of us rode out for our morning ride the next morning and headed south down the Camino Real towards Las Cruces, anxious to see Hector. We cantered along riding side by side for about an hour watching a large dust cloud that had to be Hector’s group, growing closer and closer.

We drew up at an arroyo and saw the first of the wagons and cattle at the same time. The sight was staggering. Tom took out his monocular, and after a moment said it had been a while since he’d seen so many cattle. He could be wrong, but he was almost certain there were a lot more than 8,000 head in the herd coming towards us.

We watched the herd continue to grow and the wagons get closer for a half hour, before someone with the cattle saw us. I thought it might be Hector as he waved and galloped towards us on the road.

Tom confirmed it was Hector, and we all dismounted to await his arrival. He pulled up, in a skidding stop, and jumped from his horse, with a big smile on his face. We all greeted him with handshakes, back slaps, and hugs as appropriate.

He turned waving his arm towards the cattle and wagons. “Here they are, as promised, and more as well.”

Anna and I raised an eyebrow and Hector laughed. “I brought you Raul and his family, as well as a couple of thousand head more cattle than what we had discussed.”

I told him there was time to discuss the cattle later, and asked if he’d gotten married, and how all the families were holding up. He grinned and said he had indeed gotten married and his Lorena was two months pregnant. We all congratulated him and told him that was indeed good news.

He told us all the families were tired, but otherwise fine, although the supplies were starting to get a little low. I told Hector he was about three hours away from the Ranch Operations area at the rate they were traveling, and we’d meet him and the rest there with a good lunch. He nodded and asked if he was on Estancia land yet, so he could quit herding the cattle.

“You are, indeed on Estancia land, but please continue the herding until you come into sight of the Ranch Operations buildings so the cattle will be closer for a while,” I responded.

He nodded and mounted his horse before giving us a wave and riding back to the herd and the wagons. We mounted up and rode up the Camino Real towards the Hacienda. Anna told us that she had sent Martina and the ladies over to the Ranch Operations area this morning, with instructions to cook a lunch of hamburgers and fries with cool tea for eighty families. She also sent one of the cousin’s boys to Jesus, to have a couple of teams bring out the tables and benches and set them up outside the Ranch Operations buildings. I smiled at her and told her that was just one of the reasons I loved her. Boom! Huge super megawatt Anna smile.