“You sound as if you really care for him,” Joshua observed.
Bear smiled, nodding. “I do. He’s the one who got me here, as head of the Porns. If the old head, Maggot, was still kickin’, you’d be dead right now.”
“What happened to Maggot?” Joshua inquired. “I was told he was in charge here.”
“Who told you that?”
“Reverend Paul.”
“Ahhh. Well, Reverend Paul ain’t up on the latest. Maggot is dead.”
“Did Hickok kill him?”
Bear chuckled at the memory. “Sure did. He marched Maggot down to this pit under the building and made him stand on a beam for a while, drippin’ his blood into the pit.” Bear laughed.
“I don’t understand,” Joshua confessed. “He bled to death?”
“No. No, man.” Bear contained his mirth with difficulty. “After a while, see, after the pit was filled with ’em, with hundreds and hundreds of the bastards, attracted by all the blood, Hickok gave Maggot a little shove and down he went. Right into the middle of ’em.”
“The middle of what?” Joshua still didn’t comprehend.
“Rats, man. Hundreds and hundreds of rats. They’ve probably cleaned him to the bone by now.”
“Hickok did that?” Joshua asked, horrified.
“Yeah. And you know what?” Bear leaned over, lowering his voice confidentially. “I think Hickok enjoyed it. He stood by the pit for the longest time, watchin’ them rats eat Maggot.”
Joshua shuddered simply imagining the scene.
“Yeah, I know.” Bear noticed the tremor. “I couldn’t stand to look at it either. The way Maggot was screamin’ and beggin’ for mercy and all.
Pitiful.”
“Have you seen my other friends?” Joshua thought to ask, to change the gruesome subject. “Blade, Geronimo, or Bertha?”
Bear shook his head. “Nope. We haven’t, and all the Porns been told to be on the lookout for them.” He draped his right arm across Joshua’s shoulders. “Now what’s this message you’ve got?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Armed messengers, bearing white flags, shuttled among the three factions, exchanging proposals and counterproposals, and two days later a consensus was reached. A momentous summit meeting of the leaders of the Porns, the Horns, and the Nomads would be held at noon the next day in Nomad territory. Nomad turf was selected for several reasons. The general animosity between the Porns and the Horns, a century of accumulated hatred, might erupt into violence if either side ventured onto the other’s turf. The leaders pledged the meeting would be conducted peacefully, but they entertained reservations about the self-control of some of their followers. No-man’s-land was out of the question, simply too dangerous. The Wacks weren’t invited, the prevalent belief being it would be a waste of time, not to mention the certain loss of a messenger, if an invitation were extended to the crazies. The only area remaining was Nomad turf, the ideal choice. The Nomads were comprised of former Horns and Porns, all tired of the incessant fighting, all eager for an end to the hostilities. The Nomads were particularly receptive to the summit conference, and Zahner guaranteed the safety of all parties concerned. The Nomads had established a summer camp on the eastern shore of Moore Lake, comprised of crude huts and makeshift tents. This camp was picked as the summit site.
At noon, under the rules previously agreed upon, each leader, accompanied by two cohorts, climbed a grassy knoll in the center of the camp. Guards were posted around the perimeter of the knoll to insure privacy and prevent any attacks. At the top of the knoll, under the bright sun and blue sky, four wooden benches were positioned in the shape of a square. The Nomads, Zahner and two associates, sat on the eastern bench.
The Porns, Bear and two friends, occupied the southern bench. Reverend Paul and two brothers of the First Church of the Nazarene, all three attired in the black apparel customary for the Horns, sat down on the western bench. Joshua and Hickok, as the outsiders and the mediators, used the bench on the north side of the square.
As they were taking their places, Zahner approached Hickok and offered his hand.
“Hello.” Zahner smiled. “I’m pleased to meet you. You must be Hickok. Your party arrived only an hour ago, and I’ve been too busy with preparations to properly introduce myself.”
Hickok shook, sizing the Nomad leader up, liking what he saw. A man of integrity, of confidence, reflected in the unwavering blue eyes. “And you’re called Z,” Hickok stated. “Someone pointed you out to me earlier.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Zahner said.
“Oh?”
“Yes. One of the messengers told us about the gunfight. He said you killed twenty men,” Zahner remarked.
Hickok grinned sheepishly. “Only nine.”
“Only?” Zahner nodded slowly, impressed. “I’ve also heard a lot about you from someone else.”
“Really? Who?”
“Bertha.”
Hickok quickly glanced at Bear, who was sitting on his bench talking with another Porn. He hadn’t heard Zahner’s statement.
“Bertha is here?” Hickok inquired casually, suppressing his excitement at learning she was apparently safe.
“Yes.” Zahner eyed Hickok quizzically. He turned and pointed at a tent fifty yards to the east. “She’s in there, and she said she would like to see you as soon as you had the chance.”
“Thanks. I reckon I’ll see her when I get around to it.”
Zahner’s brow furrowed, and he shrugged. “Whatever is best. I look forward to talking with you later myself.”
“You got it,” Hickok promised him, sitting down.
Zahner nodded once and took his seat.
Joshua was the only one still standing. He stood in the center of the square, smiling broadly.
“I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each of you,” Joshua began his presentation, “for having the courage and wisdom to attend this historic meeting. You have accorded us the singular honor of being your mediators.” He indicated Hickok with a wave of his hand. “My brother has expressed his wish that I conduct this conference and do most of the talking. The gift of gab comes naturally to me anyway, so I agreed.”
Joshua grinned at his joke, then hastily continued when none of the others smiled. “We’ll get right to the point for being here. All three of you have expressed a desire to terminate your friction, your warfare, a sentiment shared by the majority of your followers. And who can blame you for wanting peace? For craving a better life? Your entire lives are one continous struggle for existence from the day you are born until the day you pass on. I can only imagine how this brutal environment must affect you, how it must harden you and inhibit you from enjoying the happy, harmonious life that is your birthright as a child of our loving Creator.”
Reverend Paul and Bear listened attentively, nodding in agreement at times. They had already covered this topic with Joshua several times. To Zahner, who had not spoken with Joshua before this minute, the experience was a revelation. He hung on every word, amazed.
“You’ve allowed yourselves to become trapped in a rut,” Joshua was saying. “Your lives are dictated by the forces and circumstances surrounding you, instead of you forging the life you want to pursue. You’ve permitted the hatred of two men, men who lived one hundred years ago, to be perpetuated in your lifetimes. Like a poisonous snake, this hatred has wound down through the decades, destroying countless lives with its toxic bite. How much longer must this insanity be perpetuated? I say it should end now, today! Let there be an end to the senseless bloodshed!