“No, this is too large,” he said, holding his tin plate back toward her. “I don’t want to cheat the other men.”
“You aren’t cheating them,” Revelation said. “I’m giving you my piece.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Maybe it’s because I like the way you stood up to my brothers,” Revelation said. She smiled. “Or, maybe it’s because I like you,” she added.
“Well, I, uh, I appreciate it,” James said, not knowing what else to say.
Over the next several days, it became obvious, even to the others, that Revelation had her sights set on making James Cason her man. James tried to ignore it as much as he could, but Bob, Billy, and Duke wouldn’t allow it. They found every opportunity to tease him.
“Bob, you got a suit and tie?” Billy Swan asked one day, when the four of them were together.
“Yes, I have a suit and tie.”
“What about you, Duke? You got one?”
Duke shook his head. “I’ve never owned one,” he said. “What would I need one for?”
“Why, for the wedding,” Billy answered.
“What wedding?”
“The wedding between James and Revelation,” Billy said. “Way things are looking, they’ll be getting married soon as we get back to Texas, and I reckon we’ll be wanting to go.”
“Ha!” Bob said. “The way things are going, they’ll be getting married before we get back to Texas. Probably in the next little town we come to.”
“Well, in that case, I won’t be needing a suit after all, will I?” Duke asked. “All I’ll need is a pair of clean denim trousers and maybe a new shirt.”
Everyone but James laughed.
“That’s about enough of all that,” James said.
“You may as well face it, James. That girl is in love with you.”
“All I can say is, you boys have a very active imagination,” James said. “She’s just being nice, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh. You just keep telling yourself that,” Billy said. “That’s how it works, you know. Women are a lot smarter than men when it comes to things like that. A woman will set her cap for a man and the next thing you know, she’s got him throwed, hog-tied, and branded before he knows what hit him.”
Snorting in disgust, James rode away from the others as their laughter followed him.
Mile 645, Thursday, July 31, 1862:
They reached the Arkansas River after seven weeks on the trail. The lead animals bawled and refused the ford at first, but the drovers forced them in. Then, once the herd was started across the water it again became one entity, with all the trailing cows following without protest.
With his leg hooked across the pommel of his saddle, James sat astride his horse on the south bank and watched as the stream of animals moved down into the water. Their hooves made clacking sounds on the rocky bank of the river, and their longhorns rattled as they came in contact with each other.
He could see the ribs on each cow as it plunged into the water, and he was struck with how lean they were. It wasn’t so much that they weren’t getting enough to eat, as it was that they were trail-lean. They had literally walked all the pounds off of them. At this rate they would reach Dakota with nothing but tough and stringy animals. He wasn’t sure how much they would be able to charge for such animals, or even if anyone would be interested in buying them.
Once the entire herd was across, he called everyone together.
“We’ve probably walked off half the tallow over the last seven weeks. Because of that, I think we should stay here for a few days to recruit our animals,” James said. “We’ve plenty of water and grass, and I have a feeling the hardest part of the drive is before us.”
Although James was the trail boss, he wanted, when possible, to do things by consensus. Thus it was that he gave everyone an equal opportunity to speak. To his relief, everyone, even the Scattergoods, agreed with him.
The Texans’ cow camp was less than three miles from Fort Larned, Kansas. Leaving Bob, Billy, Matthew, and Mark to watch over the herd, James, Duke, Luke, and John rode to the fort. There was a small settlement just outside the fort itself. The town appeared to consist almost entirely of saloons, brothels, and gaming houses, primarily as a means of relieving the soldiers of their monthly pay.
“Well now, lookie here,” Luke said, smiling broadly as he looked up at several of the prostitutes who were leaning over the railing of an upstairs balcony. “I do believe I’m going to enjoy this place.”
“Stay out of trouble,” James cautioned.
“I ain’t lookin’ for trouble,” Luke said. “I’m just lookin’ for a little fun.”
Luke and John stopped in front of one of the saloons. James rode on for a few more yards before he realized they were no longer riding with him. He stopped and looked back toward them as they were tying their horses to the hitch rail. It was obvious that they were eager to get inside.
“Maybe you’d better stay with them, Duke,” James said. “Keep them out of trouble, if you can.”
“You don’t need me with you?”
“No, I’m just going to see what kind of information I can get from the post commander about the trail ahead. As soon as I talk to him, I’ll join you.”
“All right, I’ll watch them for you.” He smiled. “Besides, a beer would taste awfully good right now,” Duke said.
James left the three men in front of one of the saloons, then he rode up to Fort Larned.1 When he reached the front gate, a guard stepped in front of him, bringing his rifle to port arms.
“State your name and your business, mister,” the guard said.
“My name is James Cason. I’m a cattleman, here to see the commanding officer.”
The guard called the sergeant of the guard, who came to give James the once-over. Finally the sergeant nodded. “All right, tie your horse over there,” he said, pointing to a hitching rail, “then come with me.”
The post was garrisoned by Company H of the Twelfth Kansas Volunteer Infantry. The commanding officer, who was a lawyer in civilian life, was Captain Lawrence Appleby.
“You say you are a cattleman?” Appleby asked, when James was brought to him.
“Yes. I’m driving a herd north, from Texas to Dakota.”
Appleby looked up sharply, when he heard the word Texas.
“From Texas, you say?”
“That’s right. My folks own a ranch in Bexar County, near San Antonio.”
Appleby stroked his chin as he studied James. “Technically—Mr. Cason, is it?—that makes you an enemy.”
“I don’t know how that could be. I haven’t taken up arms against the United States.”
“But you are a Texan, and Texas is one of the states in rebellion.”
“The government of the state of Texas may be in rebellion, but I am not,” James said. “If I were, I would have joined the army of the Confederacy.”
“Then, perhaps you would like to join the Union army?”
“No, I wouldn’t. The reason I’m here now is because I want no part of this war.”
“A lot of people want no part of this war,” Appleby said. “But there is such a thing as duty to one’s country, and the honor of service.”
“I don’t believe it is my duty to kill my own kin,” James said. “And I’m sure there’s no honor in that.”
“Honest men can disagree on some things, Mr. Cason. But I see little room for disagreement over service to one’s country. You see, I joined the Kansas Volunteers because I did want to be a part of this war. Great and historical battles are being fought back East at places like Pittsburg Landing, Fredericksburg, Seven Pines, Gaines Mill.”
Appleby sighed.
“And where am I during this glorious crusade? I am cooling my heels at a post so far removed from the war that I may as well be in England. And the men they have given me? They are the dregs of society, misfits every one of them. Would you believe that the desertion rate here is as high as it is in a unit that is involved in battle?”