KISS ME, KILL ME:
"It ought to be simple," explained Alboro, "All you have to do is
talk to the guard. You know, smile at him and flirt. Ask him if
you can go in and talk to Estrellita. He will tell you anything
you want to know."
"Where do you get your ideas?" cried Machita, "I'm not flirting
with anyone! I can not think of anything more disgusting!
Besides, I don't know how!"
"It is simple," sighed the old man, "You get close to him, smile,
and then you... you flirt! Roll your eyes! Giggle! Don't you
know how to do anything? Can't you do anything right?"
"I can't flirt!" growled the girl, "I WON'T flirt! I'd rather
DIE first!"
Alboro grabbed her by the elbow. "Listen, Machito," he said,
"These deputies are hard men. They have guns, which they will
use on anyone that they consider dangerous. If we make a
mistake, they will use them on us."
"Is that supposed to make me want to get close to them?" gulped
Machita, "I'm outta here!"
Alboro dragged her back. "All I am saying is that we have to
make them forget using the guns. Despite the fact that you are
clumsy and slow, you are a pretty girl and they will talk to you.
Now go over there and *flirt*!"
Gathering her courage, Machita stomped toward the jail door. "I
hate this," she growled to herself, "Suppose he thinks I am
trying to kiss him? Ewww..."
"Buenas tardes, Senorita!" exclaimed the deputy, jumping to his
feet and grinning wolfishly. Machita stopped, legs locked in
mid-step, as she fought down the urge to flee.
[Flirt. Yeah, right,] she thought. After a few strangled noises
as she tried to clear her throat, she managed to say, "I... I was
wanting... I would like to..." Her voice gave out suddenly, and
the words faded away before she could ask to see Estrellita.
"Certainly, my beautiful princess!" The deputy continued to grin,
"We could go inside for a moment, and no one would even see us!"
[NO!] Machita's mind spasmed. This was NOT what she had
intended to imply! She shook her head and backed away from the
door, then turned and ran. The deputy laughed as he watched her
go. [I don't believe this. I don't believe this! Did he think
I was offering that?]
"What did you learn?" asked Alboro.
"I don't wanta go there!" snapped Machita, her voice back to
normal. She saw someone coming, a thin person in white cotton
and serape. Alboro and Machita were on the stone sidewalk near
the jail when Sandy found them. Sandy was wearing a white blouse
and trousers and a sombrero which covered his fair hair.
"I have found Red Cloud!" he cried. Too late, he saw the
deputies outside the sheriff's office. The two of them started
over to investigate.
"Uh-oh," whispered Alboro, "They are onto us. They will come too
close to us... if they see through Sandy's disguise, they will
shoot him. We have to do something to distract them."
"We're outta here," said Machita.
"Too late!" said the old man, "There is only one thing to do.
You must grab him and kiss him."
"WHAT??? No way!"
"Do it or they will kill him! Here they come!!"
Sandy was looking at the deputies. He turned to hide his face
from them. "What are you two talking about..." he said and,
"Urmmph!!" as Machita grabbed him.
As she hugged him, with their faces inches apart, Sandy
stiffened. He hissed, "If you kiss me, I'll kill you!"
"Don't worry! I'd kill myself!" said Machita, "Shut up and act
stupid!"
Cheek to cheek, they clenched and waited. The two deputies
strolled by the couple on the sidewalk and laughed to themselves.
One rolled his eyes and mouthed a silent whistle. Alboro smiled
weakly and lifted his hand from his waist in a miniature wave.
The couple remained in a rigid clench until the deputies passed
from sight, then they recoiled from each other.
"I'm gonna be sick," moaned Sandy.
"Me, too!" spat the girl.
"Come on!" snapped the old man, "You can cry about it later!"
"I'm gonna spit for a week," declared Machita, rubbing her cheek
with the tail of Alboro's blouse.
"It kept him alive, didn't it?" asked Alboro.
"I'd rather get shot," said Sandy.
"You can shoot yourself later," said Alboro, "But now we need to
find everyone."
Sandy left to look for Wolfwalker.
ALONG CAME LONESOME:
There were several things which drew the young cowboy to the tiny
hostel nestled along the road to the village. For one, he had
been riding for two days and was ready for a rest and a hot meal.
The second thing was the sight of a pretty young maiden chasing
an animal across the yard and into the stable. Lonesome blinked.
A wolf? And of course, the fact that his horse had turned from
the road and was heading with a will of its own for the feed
troughs at the stable was a factor as well.
"Buenas Dias!" cried the girl, struggling to hold the wolf pup to
her breast. The cub seemed about to panic. "May we be of
service? We have a very fine room for rent, and the food is
delicious."
"I might stay the night," said Lonesome. He had lost the trail
earlier when they reached the heavily traveled road. "Perhaps you
could tell me if you have seen any strangers come through here,
lately. I am looking for a boy and a girl. Thought I'd try one
more place before I went back to try to catch their trail."
"I haven't seen just two people in a while," said Rosita, who now
had both arms about the wolf, "Only a group of people - an old
man, two men and a woman... and a couple of Indians. They said
they are leaving today. When they do, there will be a place for
you to spend the night." She dimpled at him. The wolf cub
suddenly wriggled free and headed through an empty stall and then
behind the building.
"My Papa is inside," Rosita called as she hurried after the
errant pup. There was a vigorous squealing and she cried, "Oh,
you foolish pup! Look what you have done!"
The cowboy made his way around to the front of the hostel where
he dealt with the innkeeper. Again he asked about a boy and a
girl traveling together, and he received the same answer. "I'll
talk to the other travelers," he said, "Maybe they will have seen
something."
Rosita carefully pulled the wolf cub out of the mud. "Now you
stink," she scolded, "you should not have gone through the pig
pen." She carried him back to the watering trough and dabbled a
finger in the water. "Not too cold," she said, dropping the
struggling animal into the water at the same time that the
garments on the ground caught her eye. She bent to pick up the
trousers. They were leather, well decorated with dyed fringe and
needlework, and seemed to be meant for a large man. A tall man.
She wrinkled her nose in puzzlement, not hearing the sounds of
splashing in the water behind her.
A large arm reached over her shoulder and grabbed the trousers.
"I'll take those," said a large voice.
Rosita whirled around and looked up as the huge naked man took
the pants from her stiff fingers. There was the man who wore
those pants, except he was not wearing them now... he was trying
to draw them on as hastily as he could. Her eyes grew round and
huge, and her heart beat so rapidly that it fluttered like a bird
in a cage. Dimly, she was aware that she knew this man, had
conversed with him only hours before. Then he had been clothed,
but now... A naked savage. A primitive, uncivilized being out of
a nightmare, here in her village. Here at her side.
In the fleeting moments before she lost consciousness, she
considered her situation: She was at his mercy. (He was so
tall, so handsome! Why was he frantically trying to get his
clothes on? He should be forcing his attentions on her!) He
could do what he wished with her, and she could do nothing!
"Aiiiyyyeee!" she said, arranged her skirts demurely, and
fainted. After a few moments she awoke and found the Azuma lad
squatting at the entrance to the stable, watching her.
"You are well," he said. It was not a question.
Rosita scrambled to her feet and backed away from the Indian.
She stared at him, remembering him towering over her. Somehow
she could not recall all of the details, but what she could
remember caused her face to attain the hue of the nearby
ironstone buttes.
"It is good that you can walk," said Wolfwalker, "I do not wish
to have to carry you to your father. He might not understand
it."
"I... I..." Rosita stuttered. She saw him rise to his feet and
move toward the pens, "You are not going away? Please, stay for
awhile! I will not tell them what happened!"
Wolfwalker paused. "What happened?" he asked.
Rosita blushed again and backed against the wall. "I... I am not
sure," she admitted.
"Good," said Wolfwalker, and he left.
"Please?" said Rosita softly as she watched him go.
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN:
Machita and Alboro tried to appear casual as they strolled by the
jailhouse. The front door was standing open. The deputies had
walked on down the street and were not in sight, but Machita felt
as if they were standing there watching as she pushed the heavy
door wider and slipped inside. Alboro watched the street.
"It is dark in here," she said. The jailhouse also stank from
years of accumulated sweat and neglect, a fact she had been too
busy to notice when she had been there earlier. At Estrellita's
cell, she listened. Here, too, the door was standing open. A
solitary figure was bundled in a blanket, asleep on the cot.
"Wake up, Estrellita, wake up!" called Machita. The snoring
stopped, but otherwise there was no response.
"She's gotta sleep like a log," she complained, "Come on,
Estrellita! We gotta go!"
The person on the cot chuckled deeply, and she realized her
mistake. There had been a third deputy, sleeping in the cell
where Estrellita had been. He rolled out from under the blanket
and grabbed her before she could escape.
"So you want to see the senorita, do you?" he laughed, "I think
we can arrange that!"
Machita struggled but the deputies grip was too strong. She was
taken from the jailhouse and behind the building to a door in a
great adobe wall. At the door the deputy knocked and waited.
Presently, an older woman with a worn face opened the door.
"This muchacha was asking for the senorita," explained the
deputy.
"Good! This must be the one she has been demanding!" cried the
woman, "I have been about to go insane! No one should have to
put up with the abuse that girl can dish out!"
Machita looked about worriedly as she was conducted further into
the house. This rescue was not going as planned.
The woman unlocked a door and pushed Machita inside. "Here is
your servant!" she cried, "Now leave me alone!"
"Servant?" asked Machita, "What!!!!?!"
"Machita!" cried Estrellita, "You naughty, naughty girl! Where
have you been?" She winked at Machita.
"I have been... ahh... looking for you," Machita looked around
for the implements of torture she had imagined being used on her
friend. The rancherita did not seem to be in any distress.
Indeed, she was in a large room with a comfortable bed, several
chairs and a small table furnished with delicacies.
"It is about time you found me," Estrellita affected a haughty
posture and pointed toward the bed, "Fetch me my jacket."
"Fetch... you... your..." Machita breathed, hardly able to
restrain her anger.
"Do it!" Estrellita whispered out of the corner of her mouth, "Do
it or we'll never get out of here!"
Machita found the brocade jacket draped across the iron bedstead.
She lifted it carefully and made a show of brushing out the
wrinkles before handing it to the blond rancherita.
"And where do you think you are going?" hissed the woman.
"Out," said Estrellita.
"Not while I am here," the woman said.
"Why not?"
"Because you are here in my custody. I don't believe for a
minute that you were kidnapped. I think you ran off, and I think
you will run off again, the first chance you get."
"Senora, I would not do that! Why, I'll even give you my word
that I will remain here in town."
The woman allowed a thin smile. "Of course you will," she said,
"But you will either remain in my house or in my husband's jail.
With your servant, who will take care of you hand and foot, the
way I have had to do."
She closed the door. There was the soft click of a well- oiled
lock. Estrellita stuck her tongue out at the door and collapsed
with a moan into one of the chairs.
"What am I going to do, Ramon?" she said, "I've tried everything
I know to get away. I even said 'Please'!"
LONESOME ARRIVES:
Sandy was heading out of the village toward the hostel when he
found Wolfwalker, who was stalking the other way. "What's the
hurry?" the blond cowboy wondered.
"I am attempting to restore my dignity," said Wolfwalker. He
stepped to the side of the road and said, "Your friend, the one
you called 'Lonesome', is at the hostel. "I will wait for you.
I will not go into the hostel again."
"Something happen?" Sandy asked.
Wolfwalker regarded the distant mountains with his jaw clenched
shut.
"Guess I'll find out later," said Sandy.
At the hostel, Lonesome looked up from his supper and said, "I
oughta take you out behind the woodshed and teach you some sense,
kid. Why did you run off with that gal?"
"It was more like she ran off with me," grumbled Sandy, "She
wanted to follow Ramon. He's looking for his sister."
"Why don't he look somewhere safer? In case you haven't noticed,
you are heading into wild Injun country."
"`Cause his sister is with the Apache."
"What? Now I know I'm takin' you all back! You're gonna get
yourself and that rancherita killed and worse."
"Well, there is just one little problem with that," said Sandy,
"The local sheriff has Estrellita in jail. We're trying to
figure out how to get her out. That's where... where Ramon is,
right now. I come back to get Wolfwalker to help."
"Who's Wolfwalker?"
"He's a guy from the Azuma village. He came along to take care
of Red Cloud."
"Okay, who's Red Cloud?"
"She's a friend of Ramon. She came along to protect Ramon. And
then there's Alboro."
"That's just great!" cried Lonesome, "You have a whole troupe of
innocents here, wandering off into scalp-hunter territory like
sheep to the slaughter!"
"It's not my fault! I just come to make sure Estrellita didn't
get hurt!"
"Well, kid," said Lonesome as he collected his hat, "It looks
like I'm gonna have to bail you out again."
--------------
They surprised the deputy lazing outside the jailer's door. The
man pushed his sombrero back on his head and smiled at them.
"What do you wish, Yanquis?" he asked.
"Let the senorita out," said Lonesome in a cold voice.
"Now, why should I do that, Senor?" the deputy smiled more
broadly, "Is there anything you have to persuade me to do this?"
Lonesome removed a huge knife from his belt, held it loosely.
"Arkansas Toothpick," he announced, "It persuades some folks."
"Then I will have to refuse," said the deputy as he whipped out
his pistol, "You have made a very grave mistake, Senor, bringing
a knife to a gunfight. Drop it."
The blade made a -chink- sound as it stuck into the ground.
"Now, you are not so frightening without the knife, are you?"
laughed the deputy as he replaced his pistol in the holster, "You
look like a gambling man, Senor. Two pesos says you cannot pick
up that knife before I draw and fire."
"Hated to drop a good knife in the dirt," said Lonesome. "But
that's all right. I have another." He twitched his wrist and a
second knife hammered the deputy's sombrero to the wall behind
him. With the cold of winter in his voice, Lonesome added, "You
look like a gambling man, Senor. Two bucks says I can put
another knife six inches below that one before you can draw and
pull the trigger."
Slowly and carefully, the deputy used his off hand to reach up
and feel the scalp on the top of his head. Then he felt the hilt
of the knife holding his sombrero to the wall and measured six
inches below that. It was about the center of his forehead. "I
think I will step aside," he said, handing over his pistol.
Meanwhile, Sandy pounded on the door until the deputy inside the
house thrust his rifle out and peered after it. He found the
muzzle of Sandy's pistol in his face and gave no argument when
the two cowboys entered. The jailer's wife backed against the
wall, eyes wide with fright.
"Boy, you girls are helpless!" laughed Sandy.
"I was NOT helpless!" flared Machita.
"They had GUNS," explained Estrellita as she started out.
Suddenly, she threw her arms around Sandy and pulled him close,
ignoring the strangling noises he made.
Lonesome just shrugged and tied up the deputies. "I smell
trouble brewing," he said, but he smiled.
COMING OUT:
While the others were readying their mounts, Machita slipped back
into their room at the hostel. Disgusted at having been caught
girl-handed, she splashed back to male form and went looking for
Red Cloud. He found her coming out of a house on the outskirts
of the village.
"There are deputies over there," she said, indicating the far
street, "Let us get out of sight in this crib for a moment."
"Why were you in that house?" Ramon asked.
"I was talking with a friend of the family," she said, "An old
woman who once traveled to our village to help heal the sick."
"You could have told us," complained Ramon.
"I had to help her, this time," said Red Cloud, "We talked of
many things."
"We have got to go," said Ramon, "Sandy and Lonesome just busted
Estrellita out of jail."
"Yes, I know."
"You knew? How?"
"I told you. We talked of many things. I had to meet her,
because of something I promised my people."
"And you helped her?"
"It is why we came this way. It is part of my path - and yours."
"I don't understand it, but alright. We gotta go. Is that
*everyone* you have to help?" demanded Ramon, "Did your 'friend'
get away?"
"She is resting in the shed," replied Red Cloud, "I propped the
shed door open, so she can sneak away during the night."
"Well, we'll keep back until everyone settles down," Ramon said,
pulling back into the shade. The shelter was close, and he
became aware of her warmth as Red Cloud complied. "Then again,
maybe we should go, now," he suggested.
A shout arose as a deputy came into the street. "Everyone out of
your homes!" he cried, "Assemble in the village plaza! Our men
are searching for desperadoes house-by-house and we want no one
hurt!"
"Uh oh," said Red Cloud, "They will search the shed and find the
jaguar."
"There is nothing we can do," said Ramon, "Hey, where are you
going?"
"I have to do *something*", said Red Cloud.
"Wait!" cried Ramon, and he started after her.
"There he is!" shouted someone, "Get him! He is chasing that
girl!"
"Be careful of the girl!" cried another, "Don't let him get her!"
Pursuers to the left. Deputies to the right. Ramon and Red
Cloud ducked into a dwelling and slammed the door. There was no
one home. The original occupants of the hut had left so suddenly
that they had spilled greasy meat on the floor and had not
cleaned it up. The remainder of their meal was still on the rude
table. The soup was still steaming in a bowl, and pieces of a
broken dish lay on the floor.
Several men gathered outside, shouting for another to run for
reinforcements.
"I guess they've got me," sighed Ramon, "We are surrounded. There
is someone on every side."
"I will distract them," said Red Cloud as she unbarred the door,
"You can run the other way".
"No!" cried Ramon. He did what he had never done before, grabbed
her to pull her away from the door. In so doing, he slipped in
the grease, lost his balance and fell against the table.
The soup fountained up and splattered over the interior of the
one-room shack. Suddenly there was a large spotted cat which
made a swift circuit of the room, barely pausing to sniff at the
cracks in the wall. The cat flung Red Cloud's clothes about
while it frantically sought an escape from the confining walls of
the hut.
Ramon dove under the rough boards of the table to get out of the
jaguar's path. He did not want to suffer from Red Cloud's
momentary loss of control when she changed into cat form.
Presently the big cat settled down and came back to Ramon, gently
nosing the scattered clothing toward him, indicating that she
wanted him to gather them up. Ramon realized that she did not
want the men to find her clothes. He crept out from the shelter
of the table, noticing that once again his own clothes did not
fit properly.
"Bother!" growled Machita. While the jaguar looked the other
way, she discarded her clothes and pulled on Red Cloud's skirt
and blouse. With the bundled white cotton trousers and blouse
tucked under her arm, she unbarred the door and peered out.
Seeing that the men standing around outside had relaxed their
vigilance, she threw the door open and shouted, "Run for it!".
Through the open doorway the jaguar leaped, into the midst of the
men. There was fear and panic as men fled in all directions,
then the cat bounded to the top of a wall and vanished.
--------------
One of the pursuers was searching timidly about the place. "I saw
him go into the house with the girl," he said to another, "And
then there was a cry - of surprise, or fear, perhaps - and then
the jaguar jumped out and ran away. I tell you, there is
something strange about this."
"I saw it too. And now he is gone and there is no one left in
the building!" cried the second man. He turned to the girl who
had emerged from the shack and said, "Senorita! Is this Caballo
some kind of a magician? What sort of man is he?"
"You don't want to know," said Machita, with a very sour look on
her face.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN:
"I had hoped to spend a night on a real bed," said Lonesome,
"Instead, I'm on the run with a band of pilgrims who can't stay
out of trouble."
"We must head that way," said Alboro, pointing to the north and
west.
Lonesome faced the flat, open spaces. The white clouds only
served to make the scene brighter in the moonlight. "Nope," he
said, "These folks are heading back to the rancho. I'm here to
see to that."
The old man looked back the way they had come. "You have helped
us when we were in trouble," he said.
"Yeah? Well, that's over. Now we head home."
Alboro pointed toward the campfires on the slopes south of them.
"Don't think they will let us," he said, "We broke out of their
jail." He added, "You helped."
"Reckon we will have to take another road," Lonesome admitted.
"That's the only other way out," Alboro pointed north.
"Great," grumbled Lonesome, "Just great!" He settled into
munching his tortilla until something else crossed his mind.
"What happened to that girl who was in the sheriff's house with
you?" he asked of Estrellita.
"*I* don't know," lied Estrellita.
"*I* don't know," lied Ramon.
"What girl?" asked Wolfwalker suspiciously.
"Where is Gordito when we need him?" said Sandy to himself, "He'd
believe anything!"
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