Post 21 - Dead eye Sam

     Tenny was really doing good. She had caught two catfish, and a bunch of big bream. Mama would sure be surprised! She was about to set the hook on another when it happened.

     A big hand, from behind, covered her mouth tightly. Tenny tried to scream, but she couldn’t. Then a dirty-smelling rag was pushed into her mouth, her hands were tied, and she was put on a big horse in front of a really bad smelling fat man. He spurred his horse. They rode a long time. Then they stopped in a small clearing, where a loaded pack horse was waiting. Tenny was crying, as best she could with a dirty rag in her mouth.  She was scared, but she could do nothing. She was tied onto the pack horse, and again they rode. They were miles away before the man spoke.

     “You can call me Mr. Bob. If you will shut up with that crying, and promise not to holler, I’ll take out that rag. We’re goin’ to be travelin’ together a long time. Nothin’ to be scared of. I’m gonna take you to a really nice lady who loves little girls. You’ll like it there.” Mr. Bob took out the rag, and Tenny promised not to holler. She didn’t like that rag. It smelled almost as bad as Mr. Bob. They traveled for days, seemed like. Every night they slept on the ground. Tenny’s hands were still tied, and her wrists’ were bloody.

     “Mr. Bob, if I promise not to try to get away, will you take these ropes off? If I did try to run away, where would I run to? I promise not to try to get away.”

     Mr. Bob didn’t say anything, but the next day he took off the ropes, while telling her again that she was going to be Mrs. Dolly’s little girl, and she would just love Mrs. Dolly. From there, she only cried real quietly, and didn’t talk to Mr. Bob. He didn’t like it when she talked.

     Finally, late one afternoon, they came to an old house with horses in front. Mr. Bob told her they were going to stay with his friends tonight, and to not be talking. We would be home tomorrow, he said.

     She didn’t like Mr. Bob’s friends. It gave her a chill, the way they were looking at her.

     Mr. Bob said, “This little girl is going to be Mrs. Dolly’s new little girl. I don’t want nobody to touch her. I’ll kill you if you do. And, Mrs. Dolly will know. Then Slim will kill all of us.” They all laughed real big at that, but quietened down after they had a chance to think that through. They all knew how Slim operated.

 Mr. Bob then put her in a dirty room and gave her a blanket, a little water, and some more jerky, that tasted bad. He told her not to move or talk.

     Tenny could hear Bob and his friends drinking and playing cards until late at night. After the noise settled down, a man she didn’t know came into the room. He told her not to make a noise. He said he felt sorry for what was happening to her, then he hugged her. She didn’t like his hugs. He smelled even worse than Mr. Bob. And, his hugs weren’t like Papa’s hugs. She tried to scratch his eyes and hollered real loud. Mr. Bob came in, got real mad, and almost killed that man before he ran off. She didn’t sleep any more that night.

     The next day, they left there early. It was getting close to noon. Mr. Bob Stopped.

     “When we get over that next mountain, right up thare, we’ll be home. Nobody can ever bother us there.”

     Mr. Bob put her on his horse, right in front of him, and said, “If anybody is gonna try to stop us, it would be right here, in this valley.” Mr. Bob was dumb as a rock, but sometimes a streak of common sense showed through dimly. He held his knife in one hand, holding her real tight. “We jest gotta get over that hill right up thare, and we’ll be home.” Mr. Bob smiled; a crooked, lopsided smile. But it was the first one Tenny had seen.

    Two men stepped out of the bushes, pointed guns at them, and told them to stop.

     Mr. Bob said, “Put down the guns, and let us pass, or I’ll cut her throat.”

     They did. Tenny didn’t know for sure, but one of the men might have been Papa. She sure hoped so. They rode on.

     Those two men were a long way back now, and they were about to start up the mountain. Mr. Bob eased up his hold on her a little, and laughed. “In jest a few minutes, you will be Mrs. Dolly’s little girl!”