All rights reserved by the author. May be posted on any site for
Free distribution. Send comments to
[email protected].
Billy the Kid
By Waldo (
[email protected])
Chapter 1 - The shootout
"Billy! Billy Boney! It's Sheriff Pat Garrett. Don't shoot. My
posse's got the cabin surrounded. You sure as hell can't escape
from all of us now, especially because of the way that we've got
your hideout completely surrounded. Throw your pistols out
the window and surrender to me. You know me. I'll make sure
that you get a fair trail."
A pistol barrel slowly pulled back out of the broken window,
disappearing into the darkness of the old abandoned log cabin.
There was total silence except from the whistling wind blowing
through the rocks, for several long seconds as the posse
impatiently waited for the cabin's supposedly only occupant to
accept the Sheriff's order. Then a young man's high-pitched
voice came from the hidden recesses of the remote cabin in
response to the Sheriff's offer.
"Pat. I thought that you were my friend. What are you doing
out there with all of those guns pointed at me? You...You of
all people, should know that Billy the Kid won't give up without
a fight to the death. Is that what you want? Do you want me to
prove AGAIN that I'm the deadliest man in the whole fucking
world with a pistol? I've got enough damn bullets in here with
me to hold off a fucking army. And I'll do it too."
The Sheriff tilted his sweat-stained dirty Stetson hat back on
his head and looked at a nearby grimly-looking man with a big
handlebar mustache. The man was twenty feet away from the
Sheriff and prudently hiding behind a big rock, using the
granite boulder as protection as he carefully pointed his rifle
barrel in the general direction of the cabin. Instead of watching
the cabin, the man was staring at the Sheriff, patiently waiting
for the Sheriff to do something to end the impasse. Garrett
knew that this silent man was the real leader of the posse,
which was composed entirely of hired gunslingers from the
Chisome Ranch; a posse that was composed of men that
responded only to the mustache man's purse. The Sheriff knew
that this man and his rifle was really there to make sure that
Billy the Kid didn't live long enough to ever tell his side of the
story in a courtroom.
Knowing that he had to do something to comply with the law
and to also to try to help his long time friend, the Sheriff knew
that he had to make sure that no one started any shooting.
Sticking his head up over the big rock that he was using as
protection, Sheriff Garrett yelled toward the cabin.
"Billy. I know that if anyone could possible break free from this
encirclement, that it'll be you. You're the deadliest shot that
I've ever seen and I'm willing to bet that you can pick most of us
off before one of us gets lucky and permanently takes you out.
But there's too many of us out here and this ain't your ordinary
posse. I've got men out here that can shoot almost just as good
as you. There's Sam Higgins, Hump Winger, Cactus Jack
Brown, Dave Trowler, and a whole bunch more of people out
here with me who you know are deadly shooters. You're a fast
draw and in a one to one contest, my money's definitely going to
be on you. But this isn't an even contest. It's a turkey shoot,
you're the turkey and these men came prepared to do some very
intense turkey shooting. Billy, we've been friends for many
years. I don't want to see you die like this because we rode a lot
of range together. We also drank a lot of beer together and
you're one of the best pards that I ever had in my whole life.
That's why I want you to surrender to me. I'll do my damnedest
to make sure that you get out of here safely and get a fair trial.
What'd you say? Throw your guns out and come out with your
hands high and I'll make sure that you get a fair shake in Judge
Belvin's courtroom next month."
"Pat, you're talking like a idiot for the first time in your life. If
Cactus Jack and Sam are out there, then I know that fucking
asshole Henry Storm is out there too. There's no way that
Henry's going to let me live long enough to get to jail, much less
live long enough to get to a courtroom. The second I throw my
guns out and step out through that door, I'm a dead man no
matter what you promise me. Henry probably bought that
damn Sharp's rifle of his just so that he can stay out of my
pistol range while he tries to shoot me. Hey Henry, did anyone
ever tell you that I fucked your wife one time? If not, I'm mighty
proud to tell you that I did it at three or four times. Your wife's
pussy reminded me of a virgin's pussy because it was so damn
tight and unused once I got my cock past the first inch. You
must not get any of your wife's sweet pussy on a regular basis,
do you Henry? She told me that I was her first real man, Henry.
Can you hear me, Henry?"
The man holding the rifle glanced back at the Sheriff, angry that
the Sheriff had announced his presence and further angered by
the Kid's loudmouthed reckless banter. Wiping the sweat from
his face with a dirty handkerchief, the red-faced man answered
the challenge by yelling at the cabin.
"William Boney. This is Henry Storm talking. I know that you
and I've crossed paths before and that we've exchanged some
harsh words in the past. But you have my word that my men
and I are here to support the Sheriff and we will give you an
opportunity to peacefully surrender. I promised my boss that I
would see you hang before the year's end and I plan to keep
that promise. So I'll make sure that you get to jail safely and
that you stay there until we put the noose around your neck.
Just do as the Sheriff suggests and I give you my word also that
you get to the jail safely. What'd you say?"
The 'zinnnnggggg' of a bullet whipping through the air preceded
the sound of the gunfire from within the cabin. Stone chips
from the boulder protecting Storm whizzed through the air as a
bullet hit the boulder mere inches from Storm's head. Everyone
hiding further out in the bushes, ducked lower behind their
respective protection as a loud maniacal laugh came from
within the cabin, followed by a laughing challenge.
"Henry, do you think that I'm a fucking fool? I didn't get
twenty-one notches on my pistols by listening to lies coming
from assholes like you. I know that you want to kill me. You
want to become famous as the man who gunned down Billy the
Kid. Then you can become the world's most famous bounty
hunter. Well asshole, I don't believe your fucking lying
promises and I ought to shoot you just for putting my good
friend, the Sheriff, in a position where I might have to shoot
Garrett too. Hey Pat, are you still out there?"
"Yeah Billy."
"Stick your head up so I can see where you're hiding. Then I
won't throw as many bullets that way when I see some
movement out there. I owe you that much...you know, being
that we were once pards."
Knowing that he could trust the Kid's word, Pat Garrett slowly
raised his head up above the protection of the boulder that he
was hiding behind. For several long seconds, he stared hard at
the cabin trying to see inside its dark interior, knowing that the
outlaw inside the cabin was the deadliest shot that he had ever
seen. It was rumored that Billy the Kid had once challenged a
man to quickly blink his eyes twice. Billy waited until the first
blink, then drew his twin pistols, and easily put a bullet though
each of the man's eyes before the man could blink the second
time...from forty paces away.
Pat waited for the boom of the bullet and when he didn't hear
one coming his way, he holstered his pistol. Then he bravely
stepped out from behind the protection of the rock and slowly
moved until he was standing in front of it, offering a clear target
to the nearby outlaw hidden within the dark shadows of the old
cabin. Reaching up slowly to adjust his hat on his head so that
he appeared to just relaxing, he calmly spoke in a confident
voice as if he were asking nothing more important than to
borrow a cigarette from the outlaw.
"Billy, why don't you let me come in and talk to you? Maybe we
can work something out. You got any whisky in there?"
"Pat, if I had know that you and the other boys were going to
visit me today, I would've had some cold beer waiting on you.
As it is, I'm all out of anything stronger than horse pee and I'm
about to run out of patience also. Why don't you get on your
horse and ride away because I don't think that you can talk me
into giving up, Pat. If you continue on riding with those guys
and acting like a damn fool, I'll have to shoot you sooner or
later."
"Billy, I'm coming in. I want to talk to you. Just you and me,
one last time."
There was absolute silence from within the cabin. From behind
the nearby boulder, Storm whispered just loud enough so that
Garrett could barely hear the man's whiny voice.
"Why don't we just rush the cabin? There's too many of us for
him to get us all."
Garrett stared at the man with a steely glint in his eyes. His
hand moved down slowly toward his pistol as he backed up his
hard-as-nails answer to the hired killer's bossman knowing that
sooner or later, he was going to have to show the asshole
exactly who was in charge of the posse.
"Because I don't intend to allow this poor excuse of a lynch mob
that's supposed to be my posse to turn this fucking mess into a
slaughter...inside or outside the cabin."
Billy's voice sounded cheerful from within the cabin as he
laughed at Pat's words.
"Well, kiss my britches. That's the Pat Garrett that I remember.
A bold man who is willing to take chances and to do the right
thing. I had begun to worry that kissing all those babies as you
ran for Sheriff during that last election had permanently turned
you into a sissy. Come on down to the cabin and we'll talk for a
couple of minutes. I promise you that I won't draw against you
first, Pat."
The Sheriff walked slowly toward the cabin, making sure that
he didn't make any unexpected moves and that he kept his
hand away from his holstered pistol. He paused for a second
when he stepped through the partially opened door, giving
himself a chance to let his eyes slightly adjust to the relative
darkness of the cabin. William Boney, the young man better
known throughout the entire Southwest territory as Billy the
Kid, was calmly sitting on a chair that he was leaning against
the cabin's back wall. The chair was tilted back and leaning on
the two back legs.
There was a warm smile on the Kid's lips and a happy bright
gleam in his wide-open eyes. That semi-happy silent greeting
eased most of the nervous feeling tickling down the Sheriff's
sweaty backbone. Seeing that the Kid's pistols were holstered
only meant that the Kid thought that he was fast enough so
that even in that awkward sitting position, he could outdraw
the Sheriff if necessary.
Billy the Kid was the roguish youthful outlaw who had gunned
down twenty-one people in fair gunfights by the time that he
turned a mere twenty-one years old. Billy was a 'good old boy'
who just happened to frequently be on the wrong side of some
rancher disputes over land, cattle and power. As a young man
with a quick temper and even quicker pistol draw, he quickly
proved that no one could beat him in a fair gun battle and in a
couple of cases, even in an unfair gun battle. And every time
that he outdrew some would-be bad guy seeking a reputation,
another challenger would step out in the street to try to become
the guy who finally beat 'The Kid'.
Pat observed an empty chair by the table and he spun it
around, and then sat down on it backwards so that he was
resting his elbows on the chair's back as he faced his former
friend. Pat wanted to keep his hands as far away from his
pistol as possible to make sure that he didn't push his former
friend too far.
Keeping a big smile on his face, the Sheriff wasn't sure what he
was going to say but knew that he had do something to defuse
the situation. He knew that his best bet was to try to pick up
the devil-may-care joking friendship that the two used to share
when they rode the range together.
"Well Billy, I haven't seen you in town much lately. Looks like
the Barber hasn't seen you either. How long has it been since
you've had a haircut?"
"Been awhile, Pat. I normally get a haircut every spring and fall
then trim it once or twice myself between haircuts but I've been
mighty busy this spring. As you know, Storm and his bunch of
would-be gunmen have been keeping me busy. I didn't want to
come into town to get myself all spruced up and maybe have to
shoot two or three of them while I was getting a simple haircut.
After all, it is your town and me shooting a couple of assholes
right on your main street might damage our friendship. But
you're right. I do need a haircut. Or else, I've got to get a bigger
hat to stuff it into."
Tilting his own cowboy hat back on his head, Pat began talking
to his former friend in a friendly, sort of fatherly tone.
"Well Billy, it looks mighty bad for you today and I sure as hell
wouldn't want to be in your boots. Those guys out there aren't
your typical farmers with a borrowed pistol who can't hit the
side of a barn at twenty paces. Most of them can give you a
good challenge in a gun battle by themselves. Put them all
together with Storm goading them after you, throw in the
bounty on your head and it looks like you're going to visit Boot
Hill as soon as they get you out in the open. I know that you
would rather go out in a blaze of gunfire, but I sure wish that I
could convince you to turn your guns over to me. I promise you
that I'll do my best to make sure that you get back to town and
get a fair tri...SHIT! I can't promise you a fair trial because
you and I both know that the same men outside this cabin will
also be on your jury. Oh, they'll throw in some farmers and
merchants to make your trial look more legit but they'll all be
on the payroll of Storm. What are we going to do, Billy? I hate
to be the one that's got to end your career but if I don't do it,
someone else will be coming right behind me. Sooner or later,
you're going to die."
Garrett stared at the young man's hairless face. The outlaw
was twenty-one but looked like he was only fourteen with his
small slender body, beardless face that had never seen a reason
to come near a razor, large soft eyes, thick head of long hair and
boyish good looks. He looked just as innocent and virginal as
he did when he was twelve years old. Because of his delicate
childlike appearance, most men underestimated him and a few
made the deadly mistake of making fun of his too-soft looks.
But those same fools only made fun of him once in their usually
cut-short lifetime.
"I hear you Pat and know what you mean. They come after me
all the time. Look what I had do just before you got here. I ain't
even had time to get rid of his body yet."
The Kid pointed to a dark corner of the cabin without taking his
eyes off his former friend. Pat stared at what he quickly
recognized as a dead body laying on the floor. Showing his
curiosity by arching his eyebrows, the Sheriff calmly asks
"Friend of yours?"
Billy's blue eyes twinkled as he answered in his soft normal
voice. When he was around most people, he spoke in a gruff,
deep voice to sound tougher but when he was relaxed and
around friends, he switched back to his normal voice which was
high pitched enough to sometimes be mistaken for a woman's
voice.
"Nah. Some young sidewinder that hitched his horse in a
canyon about a mile from here and tried to sneak up on me
while I was asleep. Sure hated shooting him, because I thought
for a second it was my twin brother when he came bursting in
here with his father's stolen rifle about an hour ago. Never did
see anyone that looked so much like me and would've liked to
talk to him under other circumstances. But he was just a
sixteen year old kid with a wild hair up his ass who got his fool
head blown off when he tried to act like a man."
Pat arched his eyebrows and lowered his voice as he continued
trying to reason with his friend.
"Billy, I thought the last time that we talked, that you were
going to finally hang up your guns and give up your outlaw life.
That you were going to go somewhere they didn't know you and
where you could start over anew with a clean slate. Why did you
stay here?"
The young man threw his head back and let a small snort
escape his lips. For just a second, the wild bravado
disappeared from his youthful looking face and he looked like a
young man desperately trying to do nothing more dangerous
than to convince his father to let him borrow the buckboard for
a Sunday Church social. Clasping his hands, he whispered as
he told the truth to the painful question.
"I tried. I honestly tried but they wouldn't let me quit or give me
the opportunity to leave peacefully. They keep coming at me,
goading me, pushing me to draw, forcing me into one gunfight
after another. They called me names...names such as 'sissy'
or something just as dirty. One man promised me that before
he killed me, he was going to fuck me...that he was going to
make me into his little girl-boy and put braids in my hair. My
first shot blew his balls off then I killed the son-of-a-bitch. Pat,
they came after me at first because of the way that I look so
innocent and now they come after me mainly because of my
reputation for being a quick draw. They think that just because
I look young, soft and innocent that I'm an easy target. I wish
that I was big...strong, husky, and meaner looking then they
would leave me alone. I can't even grow a mustache with these
two single hairs on my upper lip. I would love to hang up my
guns and get away from here...maybe get to go to Colorado
and get out of this heat and dust. Maybe even get me a job up
there as a lawman and start over like you started over. But
those guys outside won't leave me alone and they keep coming
after me, pushing me. So I keep shooting them. After all, they
also want to kill me."
Pat slowly rose to his feet, resulting in Billy's hand easing down
toward his holstered pistol. Keeping his hands high and away
from his holstered pistol, Pat stepped away from his chair and
headed toward the dead body sprawled in the corner of the
cabin. Nudging the body with his boot, he turned it over and
stared at the dead boy's partially blown away face. Staring at
the dead body lying on the floor, he asked the question that he
had to have truthfully answered.
"Billy, how serious are you about hanging up your guns?"
"I wouldn't mind dying peacefully someday on a farm far away
from here. But I sure as hell ain't going to let those guys shoot
me, so I'll never make it to someplace where I can hang them up
forever."
Pat walked back to his chair and slowly reached inside his
pocket, removing a pouch of tobacco and some rolling papers.
For several seconds, he concentrated on rolling himself a
cigarette and didn't say anything as he focused upon making
himself a smoke. Once the hand-rolled cigarette was lit and
dangling from his mouth, he whispered conspiratorially as a
plan began forming in his mind.
"I think I know how you can go to Colorado, but it'll require
some serious long-term play-acting on your part. You'll have to
pretend to die and then will have to permanently stay dead.
Otherwise they'll come gunning for me also. I'll be putting my
reputation on the line to do this and I'll expect you to honor
your word to me. If I can come up with a plan so that you can
walk far away from here forever, you've got to promise me that
no one will ever hear of Billy the Kid again. I promise you that I
won't screw you."
A confused look appeared on the Kid's youthful face. He ran a
hand through his thick hair, thinking about the opportunity
being offered him. After ten seconds of silence, a shy smile
appeared on his face as he decided that maybe there was a way
out of his current mess.
"Sounds like you've got a plan. Well, I've always trusted you
and know that you're a pard that I can rely upon when you give
your word. You've got my word...my personal word to you...
that if you get me away from here, that I'll hang up my guns
and will let my gunslinger identity die. I'll also leave the state
and will never come back. Now how are you going to pull this
off?"
Blowing a big cloud of cigarette smoke from the side of his
mouth, the Sheriff's answer was spoken very low so that no one
outside the cabin could hear him.
"People come looking for you because they want to have the
reputation of killing 'the Kid'. What if I steal that reputation?
What if something happens so that I'm known as the man who
killed 'Billy the Kid'? Then they will stop looking for you. I
propose that we use that dead boy's body to convince that posse
that I shot you. We'll dress him in your clothes and put your
guns in his hands. We'll rip up a couple of these floorboards
and create an opening where you can crawl under the floor and
hide. Then I'll fire a couple of shots from my pistol and one of
your pistols. I'll put your smoking pistol in the dead boy's
hand. I'll call the posse in, show them the dead body, claim that
I shot you when you wouldn't surrender, and collect the reward
for your death. You stay here hiding in this cabin for the rest of
the day and I'll come back up to get you tomorrow. I have some
friends that are passing through on a small wagon, going to
Colorado and I'll get you passage with them. You'll have to wear
a disguise for a while and do some serious role-playing until
you get up there because too many people know what you look
like, thanks to that fool reporter that plastered your picture all
over the front of his dime novels last year. Yep, we'll have to
drastically change the way that you look so that no one
recognizes you until you get far, far away. What do you say?"
The cabin was silent except for the buzzing of a large fly near
the dead body. Billy was staring hard at Pat as if he could see if
his former friend was lying about what he was promising to do
for him. Twenty seconds later, Billy's answer showed that he
was thinking about the proposition.
"People will call you a dirty fink for shooting a friend, Pat. You
can do that and let me escape too?"
"Hell yes. It will ensure that I can get a sheriff's job wherever I
want to go later. Might even help me get one of those cushy
Marshall's jobs someday. I'll also claim the reward for your
death and split it with you as you get out of here. That will give
you a grubstake to get you started somewhere else. Can't give it
all to you because people will expect me to quickly spend the
money but I think that each of us getting half will be mighty fair
for both of us. Also can't give you back your guns because it
would probably be expected for me to hang them up in my office
and use them to show off the power of my office."
Billy tilted his head and looked at the ceiling, letting his eyes
drift from Pat for the first time since he entered the cabin. After
staring up at the ceiling for several long seconds, the young
man slowly stood up and unbuckled his gun belt, laying it on
the table in front of Pat as he answered the original question.
When he was unarmed for the first time many years, he gave
his word as he stood in front of the Sheriff.
"You've got a deal, Pat."
Chapter 2 - He's dead
"Storm, come on down. He's dead."
Six men rushed carefully toward the cabin, lining up along the
wall, using the cabin's wall as protection. Storm pointed at a
man with a double-barrel shotgun and yelled as he signaled the
man to go in front of him.
"Pat, we're coming in. Don't fire."
The man with the shotgun kicked the half-open door all the way
open and rushed into the dark cabin, immediately followed by
two other men with drawn pistols, then Storm. Sheriff Pat
Garrett was standing over a dead body as he held his pistol in
his hand. There was a thin trail of smoke coming from the gun
barrel that he was holding. Glancing down at the dead man's
partially blown-away face as he pointed his rifle at the dead
man's chest, Storm impatiently began asking questions.
"We heard the shooting and came dab near close to barging in
on you. What happened?"
Using the toe of his boot to nudge the still smoking pistol in the
dead body's right hand, Pat answered the man's question as he
kept a stern grimace on his face.
"I tried to get him to surrender but he wouldn't do it. So then I
challenged him to a gunfight to see which of us was really the
fastest. He let me draw first which was his mistake; otherwise
it would've been me lying there. Even though I hit him in the
face with my first shot, he was able to wildly fire a couple of
bullets before he went down. Billy the Kid died like he
lived...fast and deadly."
Storm slapped the lawman on the back and exuberantly yelled
through the open doorway to the armed men still outside the
cabin.
"We're going to have us a party tonight to celebrate the death of
the world's deadliest outlaw. Sheriff Pat Garrett has done killed
Billy the Kid."
Pat unbuckled the fancy gunbelt from around the waist of the
dead boy as he started putting the posse to work.
"Why don't you have some of your men dig a hole while I wrap
him up in a blanket? Then we'll get out of here after we have us
a quick burial."
***
The next day, the sound of the horse's hoofs on the rock echoed
through the canyon and could be clearly heard within the small
clearing. Pat trotted his horse into the clearing and stepped
down from the saddle. A cautious William Boney stepped out
from behind a nearby tree, holding a rifle and smiling as he
joked with his friend.
"I thought it was a great funeral, but I sure wished that you had
been a little more witty in coming up with a last prayer for me,
then simply saying 'Take care of this poor soul Lord'. Don't ever
ask me to say a eulogy for you, Pat."
"Why aren't you back at the cabin?"
"Bout an hour after you and those gunslingers left, people
started coming up to look at the cabin. I narrowly got away as
they started tearing up the cabin looking for money that they
thought I might have hidden."
Pat reached into an inner pocket of his vest and pulled out a big
wad of money, which he handed to Billy.
"There's two thousand in there, half of the reward that I claimed
for shooting you. I threw in another hundred from my share of
the reward because I also claimed your horse, saddle and guns.
Before I got the posse back to town, it was already being
broadcast on the telegraph that you were dead, so the whole
state knows about your death now. We've already got a reporter
here from the county paper and he's expecting some big-name
reporters to come in on the stage from the state capitol to
interview me in the next couple of days. So the word's out that
you're dead. You just have to live up to your word to disguise
yourself until you get so far out of the territory that no one has
heard of you"
Billy sat down beside the small campfire and poured them both
a cup of coffee.
"I'll be glad to get out of here. I sure as hell was surprised that
they fell for your little bit of playacting but you're right. If
anyone sees me leaving town or ever recognizes me where ever I
go, then the manhunt and killing start again. I'm going to live
up to my word to disappear forever. Now what did you work out
to get me out of here?"
As the answer, Pat removed an old traveling bag from his
horse's saddle horn and dropped it on the ground beside the
young man. Pointing at it, he sipped his coffee as he explained
the details of his plan.
"Transportation with my friends is worked out. You'll have to
pay the two hundred dollars that they request out of your
money but they're willing to let you travel with them as they
slowly head toward Colorado. You may not be happy with your
disguise but it's the best that I can do under the circumstances.
Just keep telling yourself that it's only temporary and necessary
for your safety."
Billy picked up the bag as he gleefully answered.
"I don't care if I have to pretend that I'm the scum of the earth
as long as it'll help me get away far from here. I'm really grateful
for you helping me with this, Pat."
As Billy opened the bag, Pat softly continued describing his
plan.
"I'm just glad that you aren't wearing your pistols at this minute
and hope that you feel just as grateful two minutes from now. I
did the best that I could do under the circumstances, Billy."
Billy's hands were exploring the few items inside the bag but he
had a funny look on his face. He pulled a long black robe out of
the bag, holding up the robe as he cautiously asked.
"What the fuck is this shit? Am I going to pretend to be some
Jesuit Priest?"
Clinching his coffee cup tightly, Pat answered in a gruff voice as
he stared straight into Billy's eyes.
"No, it's a similar disguise, but you're not going to be a priest
because that wouldn't disguise your recognizable face enough.
Too many people know your well-known face, so it has to be a
disguise where there's no way that they can see anything that
even looks like your old dead outlaw male self. That disguise
and the acceptance of your fellow travelers as being one of them
will prevent any suspicions that anyone else might have as to
your real identity. My friends, the group that's traveling to
Colorado is a wagonload of four Nuns who have agreed to
temporary take you in as one of them in return to your
adherence to their rules and payment of two hundred dollars for
your transportation. They know your secret but because it's a
religious order, they've forgiven you for your past sins and are
prepared to accept you as a working member of their small
group as long as you behave yourself. For the next three to four
months until you get so far away from New Mexico that no one
doesn't know you, you're going to pretend to be one of them.
You're going to have to wear that woman's habit and pretend to
be a Nun. You're going to have to pretend that you're a woman
for a while, Billy. From this moment on until you're a thousand
miles from here, you're going to have to pretend that you're
Sister Mary Jane O'Hara on a pilgrimage to save souls in
Colorado."
***
Billy's hand suddenly moved toward where his pistol used to
ride on his waist. His fingers tightened and clinched as his
hand touched nothing but the side of his dirty jeans. His face
reddened and his eyes wildly glared as he stared a deadly look
at the Sheriff. Throwing the clothes bag at Garrett, he screamed
at the man who he thought was his friend.
"FUCK YOU. I've been called a sissy almost all my life and now
you want me to dress like one. NO FUCKING WAY WILL I EVER
PRETEND TO BE A WOMAN. Come up with something better.
Maybe they need a cattle drover."
Taking a quick sip of his coffee, Pat started voicing the
explanations that he developed while on his ride back to the
cabin. Explanations that sounded good in his head earlier now
sounded lousy when faced with the angry young man that was
looking for a pistol.
"Billy. There are several thousand people between here and
Colorado. Your pictures are plastered over a bunch of those
dime store novels in every store and now your picture will also
be on the front page of every newspaper in the territory. Sooner
or later, you're going to run into someone that recognizes you.
You can't grow a beard to hide your face so we have to do
something else to change the way that you look. Just calm
down and think about it for a moment. If you dress in that
woman's outfit and pretend for a few months that you're only a
Nun, you can hide out in the open because no one would think
that a Nun could really be the dangerous Billy the Kid.
Otherwise, you're going to have to ride at night and hide during
the daytime. You would have to avoid towns for most of your life
until your face aged and people forgot about you. Dressed this
way as a Nun, you can walk around in the open, enjoy fresh air,
and smile at the same people who would definitely shoot you if
they recognized you."
"I can't do it. I'm not a woman. I don't want to be a woman. I
don't want to pretend to be a woman."
"Nuns aren't women. Well, they are, but they aren't. We don't
look at them as being women because normally we don't look at
them in a sexual content sort of way. They don't flirt with men,
don't dress in all them frilly clothes that normal women wear,
and certainly don't behave like a woman. They are more
salesmen than women with their uniforms, their belief in their
product and their general demeanor. So you won't be a woman.
You'll just be a man pretending to be a Nun. Now that's settled
because that's the only way that you're going to get out of New
Mexico without being recognized and you're going to do it,
because you gave me your word."
"I didn't know what you had in mind at the time or I would've
selected the shootout, Pat. You're lucky that I don't have a
pistol or I'd...pistol whip you for coming up with such a
stupid scheme."
***
"It'll never work. There ain't no fucking way that it'll work."
"It will work if you give it a chance. You were always called 'The
Kid' because of your youthful looking face and your gun speed.
If you hadn't been a quick draw with the pistol, you might have
been know as ...Well, just trust me when I say that you
probably would've have had another nickname if you didn't
have such a temper and deadly aim."
The person standing across from Sheriff Garrett, didn't even
remotely resemble the reported dead outlaw. The long, almost
ground-dragging coarse dark Nun's habit disguised the slender
body's sex and made it appear that the wearer was a flat-
chested woman. The heavily starched dark hood rimmed with
the white trimming that flowed down into a small white rounded
tablecloth looking scarf across the chest of the habit explicitly
defined the outfit as a Nun's outfit. A small metal cross
suspended around the neck by a plain necklace added to the
illusion that the person was a member of a dedicated religious
order. The almost all-covering hood hid the long stringy dark
hair that was one of the Kid's trademarks as well as kept his
face in the shade of the hood so his recognizable face couldn't
easily be seen. His face was further disguised with an old pair of
glasses that Sister Mary Jane O'Hara was supposed to wear
whenever she was around other people.
Garrett picked up the trousers that the Kid had been wearing
and started to throw them into the fire when Billy grabbed them
from his hand.
"Wait. I ain't wearing this fucking robe forever so you ain't
getting rid of my clothes."
Garrett let Billy pack his old male clothes in the old traveling
bag while he put out the campfire. After the camp was cleaned,
the two men climbed on their horses and rode a couple of miles
to where Garrett had left a hitched buckboard. Pointing at the
buckboard, he instructed the kid to climb aboard it.
"You need to tie that farm boy's old nag to the back of the
buckboard and drive it to the outskirts of town. You'll find a
covered wagon down by the crick. Sister Bernadette is the
Abbess and she's expecting you. I'll see you again before they
pack up the wagon and head north. Good luck Billy."
"Pat, I'm finding it very difficult to get off this horse. I've never
run from a fight before and sitting here, wearing this woman's
costume, makes me feel like a coward. I'm only a inch away
from ripping these damn women's clothes off and trying to slip
out of here at night."
"Well Billy, you know that I put my professional reputation on
the line when I claimed that I shot you and collected the reward
for your death. So if the truth is ever found out, then those
same damn bounty hunters will come looking for me to collect
the reward on my scalp. If you break your word to me, then
we're both only an inch from death. My life and career are very
dependent upon how good you can keep your word. I did what I
was supposed to do and now it's your turn to keep your word.
Are you going to double-cross me?"
The Kid threw a leg over his horse's neck and dropped lightly to
the ground. He tied the old horse to the end of the buckboard
as he declared in an unusually gruff voice.
"First man that touches me on the ass or asks for a kiss gets
his head shot off."
"You ought to kiss that man instead of hurting him because his
patting you on the butt would be good proof that your disguise
was working. Bye Billy, I'll see you again before the Nun's
wagon heads north."
Pat laughed as he eased his horse into a gallop away from the
wagon.
Pulling the rifle from the sheath on the old farm horse, Billy hid
the rifle under the buckboard's seat so that he could get to it
fast if he needed it. Climbing up into the buckboard's hard
wooden seat, he picked up the reins and declared out loud to
the team of mares.
"Well girls, it looks like I've reached rock bottom. I've gone from
being the baddiest motherfucker in the New Mexico territory to
being a stupid looking bitch in a hot black gown. Why did I give
my fucking word to Pat? I should've gone out with both pistols
blazing away back at the cabin, damn it."
***
The old horses pulling the buckboard were slow so Billy had a
lot of opportunity to think about what he was getting ready to
do as he drove slowly toward town. Sitting out in the hot
overhead sun wearing a solid black habit, Billy began to sweat
as he came closer to town. Whether the sweat was from the
heat or from his fear of being recognized in his hated disguise
was difficult for him to determine.
Just as he topped the last ridge before town, he observed
another family buckboard coming on the road toward him. It
was too late to change course to miss them so he decided to try
to bluff his way by the oncoming family. He easily recognized
the driver as being Olaf Johnson who he had worked beside
about two months earlier at a community barn raising. And the
scrawny woman wearing the bonnet sitting beside him was Mrs.
Johnson who had shared their chicken dinner with Billy that
day as they all pitched in to help a neighbor build a new barn.
Slipping the glasses back onto his face to disguise his
appearance, he wiped one big drop of nervous sweat from the
tip of his nose as he prepared himself mentally to face some
people that knew his real persona.
The husband stopped his wagon in a wide spot in the road and
signaled for 'the Nun' to bring her buckboard on through the
narrow gap while he waited for her to pass. Keeping his hood
pulled to throw shadows upon his face, Billy stared straight
ahead as he guided his slow horses down the road. As Billy's
old horses plodded slowly by the Johnson's stopped wagon, the
woman greeted the disguised outlaw with a cheery greeting.
"Good day Sister. It's a pleasure to see people doing the Lord's
work in this harsh land."
"Thank...", replied Billy but as he said it, he recognized that he
was using his too-masculine deep voice. Raising his voice
timbre to a more feminine sound, he continued his response to
her greeting. "...you. May the Lord watch over you and your
family today."
The slow team of old horses couldn't pull the rickety dilapidated
buckboard by the smiling couple fast enough for the sweating
former outlaw. He stared straight ahead and mumbled under
his breath to himself as he waited for some sign that they had
seen through his disguise.
"Keep going Olaf. Don't force me to shoot you for recognizing
me."
Behind him, he heard the slap of leather and the jangle of the
harness as the farmer started his team moving back up the hill.
Glancing back, he saw the farmer's ramrod straight back
looking straight ahead as the farmer's buckboard headed away
from him. Two people who knew him quite well hadn't
recognized him and had thought that he was a Nun so the
disguise must be working.
Glancing down at the rifle laying at his feet, he felt good that he
hadn't had to use it on his friends. Maybe Pat was right about
this disguise being the perfect way for him to get away.
Chapter 3 - Saint Francis
The covered wagon was parked under some large old
cottonwood trees by the edge of the small steam that passed
next to the small town. Two Nuns were cooking at the campfire
while another Nun was grooming the horses and a fourth Nun
was carrying water from the stream in a wooden bucket.
Stopping his team of horses at the edge of the clearing, Billy
dropped down from the buckboard as the older Nun that was
grooming the other horses approached his wagon.
"Hello. I'm Sister Bernadette, and I'm the Abbess of the future
Monastery of Saint Francis which we will eventually establish
somewhere in the mountains of Colorado. The high altitude of
the mountains will make us feel near our Savior. You must be
the person that we will address only as Sister Mary and will
consider you to be one of us. We've been expecting you since
the Sheriff stopped by yesterday and explained to me that you
are a lost soul who wants to travel north with us. When he
explained the reason for your journey with us, I was a little
worried about ...your expected overall appearance. But now
that I see you in person, I'm very pleased with the way that your
very natural diminutive beautiful appearance looks very real. I
truly know now that your physical impersonation of a Lord's
female servant will work. You look more like a woman than I
do. Come meet your fellow sisters."
Standing on the ground, Billy had to silently admit to himself
that she was correct about their comparison. Sister Bernadette
was a tall, broad-shouldered woman in her middle fifties with a
round ruddy face. Her Roman nose had obviously been broken
sometime in her youth, giving her face a craggy, harsh look.
She had the sort of overall appearance that was instantly
associated with firmness, discipline, and servitude toward God.
Striding toward the campfire, the Sister clapped her hands to
get everyone's attention as she loudly proclaimed a greeting to
the small group.
"Sisters, I want you to meet our newest traveler...whom we shall
address only as Sister Mary Jane O'Hara. Our new Sister has
some very unusual personal problems that she is trying to put
behind her as she embarks on a new life, leaving her old life
behind her. Before we told the Sheriff 'yes' when he approached
us with this major decision about her traveling with us, we all
discussed the reason for her joining our small community. We
all made the decision that we will help Sister Mary with her
journey. We will give her the chance to find herself, just as we
give all of the Lord's children a chance to correct the errors of
their life. I'm pleased that she has decided to give the Lord's
way the opportunity to help her with her personal problems and
know that her time with us is going to be beneficial to our flock.
Sister Mary, the woman with the strong arms carrying the water
is Sister Angela who has been with us for eight years. The cook
stirring the broth is Sister Elizabeth who has been with us for
two years. And Sister Melissa is our bread baker today. She's
been with us only a month but in that short time, we've all
come to love her, just as we will also learn to love you. Sisters,
come greet your new fellow disciple."
Sister Angela was a short but stout-looking, heavy-set, middle
thirties, black woman whose bright friendly smile was almost as
broad as her wide hips. Her heavy weight made her naturally
large chest look even larger so that she looked quite 'motherly'.
Although Sister Elizabeth was smiling and trying to look
friendly as she was introduced, she looked like a very sour
looking woman with heavy thick eyebrows and a noticeable
heavy facial growth of hair almost thick enough to be called a
mustache. She had a youthful looking face but the small tuff of
pure gray hair sticking out through the hood, made it difficult
to tell if she was in her early thirties or late forties.
Sister Melissa stood out from the other women because of her
pretty face and youthful looking body. A Nun's habit was
designed to minimize the prominent physical aspects of a
woman's body, but it was quite obvious from looking at her,
that she had a healthy, lithe woman's body that she could be
very proud of having. Where the other women had thick
eyebrows and their faces looked as if nothing more than soap
had ever touched their faces, Sister Melissa's thin eyebrows
looked out of place with the Nun's hood. The trimmed eyebrows
made her look like one of those dance-hall girls.
All of the women rushed forward and gushed a personal
greeting as they welcomed their new Sister to the flock. Sister
Angela grabbed Billy's hands and pumped vigorously as she
repeatedly declared, "Praise the Lord" mixed in with other warm
greetings. The friendly black woman continued to hold onto one
of his hands while the other Sisters come forth and delivered
their individual welcome to their new "Sister".
Sister Elizabeth's lips smiled at the new Sister but her eyes
were cold and her words of greeting seemed forced. As soon as
Sister Elizabeth delivered her quick perfunctory greeting, she
returned to the stew that she was preparing for their dinner.
The most surprising greeting was when Sister Melissa hugged
the new member of the religious group and gave the new Nun
an unexpected quick kiss on the cheek. Staring into each other
eyes, Billy saw a glimmer of friendly mischievousness in her
dark eyes that he didn't expect from anyone wearing the
somberly looking Nun's habits. Sister Angela was still pumping
his hand vigorously and continuing her "Praise the Lord" chant,
but it was Sister Melissa's soft words that he heard repeating in
his mind over and over "I know that we're going to become the
best of friends."
"Girls, back to your chores, while I explain our lifestyle to our
new member." clapped Sister Bernadette. Apparently whenever
she clapped her hands, it was a command that everyone must
obey.
Sister Angela let go of his hand, and mashed him tightly against
her soft chest in a big, warm, almost slobbery hug. With the
introductions over, Sister Bernadette guided the slightly dazed
new member over to a downed tree close to the small stream as
everyone else went back to work. Glancing back at the nearby
campsite to ensure that everyone was busily working and not
paying attention to them, she got straight to the point as to why
they were accepting him into their midst.
"I think the Sheriff said that you wished to make a sizeable
donation to our cause. Two hundred dollars was the agreed
amount but if you wish to donate more to us, it will all be
accepted. We are a poor order and all money is put to work for
the Lord's purpose."
"Uh, yeah. When are we getting out of here?"
"We'll be breaking camp on Monday."
"MONDAY! Shiiiittt...I mean, holy cow. That's five days away.
I can't hang around here that long. Someone is bound to
recognize me and then I'll have to shoot my way out."
"We have a commitment to the local church to support the
service on Sunday. Leaving prior to then wouldn't fulfill our
mission here. As for recognizing you, I don't think that you
have anything to worry about. We are left alone by most of the
townspeople and your physical disguise is good enough to fool
even your real mother. No one is looking for you because
everyone thinks that you're dead and anyone that does see any
resemblance won't believe their eyes because of your disguise.
Why would the famous outlaw dress as a Nun? Believe me,
hiding out in the open as one of our order is the best way for
you to escape."
He fumbled in the pocket and pulled out the small wad of
money that he had prepared for this moment. She hid the
money in her pocket and waved a hand at the steam as she
begins explaining her philosophy.
"I like sitting here and thinking that only the rejoicing birds are
disturbing the silence and tranquility of the flowing water. Just
like you, the rest of us also have a past that we are trying to
forget. They know your story so it's only fitting that you know
their stories. Several drunken men raped Sister Elizabeth when
she was just a young beautiful girl. She's never been able to
trust a man since, nor to really forget her hatred for men. Even
though she's going to treat you as her sister, she can't forget
that you're really a man. After she gets to know you a little
better, she'll loosen up and will a little more friendly toward
you. Sister Angela joined the church after she decided that her
white lover wasn't going to really leave his rich white wife for
her. She becomes almost fanatical at times in her praying but
aside from that, she's got a heart of gold. Sister Melissa, like
you, joined us purely because we offered a convenient quick
way out of a small town that we were in a month ago about two
hundred miles south of here. She was a saloon girl...for lack
of better words to describe her profession at that time, who shot
her lover...who just happened to be the son of the town's
mayor. I'm not sure how much longer she'll stay with us
although I'm pleased with the way that she's adapted to our
sparse lifestyle so far. As for myself, after my husband left me
for another woman, I sought refuge in the church. I tell people
that I was called by God to help my Sisters in Mexico. After I
created a new life for myself in Austin, Texas where I was able
to forget my past and to become very satisfied with my new life,
I was given the ultimate goal of establishing my own sanctuary
in Colorado. So you see, each of us has a past that we're
running from just as you are running from your past life."
***
Each of the Sisters had chores to do around the camp and they
rotated those chores on a monthly basis. Until the next rotation
period, Sister Mary was given the chore of taking care of the
horses, gathering firewood, and helping Sister Angela with the
water. The majority of the rest of the day was spent with Sister
Bernadette learning the basics of the order. The objective
wasn't to prepare the new Sister for a lifetime of serving God
but rather to impart some of the day-to-day knowledge of the
order that the new Sister would have to know in order to
impersonate a female member of the order. Billy remembered a
lot of the stuff that he had previously learned when he was a
small child that was trained to be an acolyte in the small
church. Carrying a cross as a young boy had instilled in him a
respect for the wrath of God that hadn't dissipated much with
age, so he quickly picked up on the basics of being a member of
the order. By the time sunset arrived, he knew enough about
the Order so that even he felt confident about his ability to
impersonate a Nun doing her religious duties. He also knew
each of the Sisters quite well after having worked with each of
them most of the day.
Sister Angela was the easiest one to become a friend with first,
because of her enthusiastic jovial nature. She laughed at
everything with an infectious laughter that made working easy.
But she was also the most fervent spouter of bible verses. She
had a verse memorized for every situation and bombarded the
new Sister with almost constant religious training and
appropriate verses.
Sister Elizabeth was the hardiest one to become a friend with,
because of her strong hatred for men. Although she tried to be
somewhat friendly with the new Sister during their few minutes
of working together, it was obviously a forced friendliness.
Sister Bernadette also tried to be friendly but her strong
leadership style established a quick wall between them. She
was friendly but expected instant obedience and adherence to
her commands. Billy thought once that she was going to grab
him by the ear and forcibly guide him when he was a little slow
in following her explicit instruction in how to knell and pray.
Sister Melissa was a paradox that he wanted to learn more
about. The beautiful young Nun was friendly but quickly found
something else to do every time that he came near her. And she
kept a funny smile on her face, as if she was laughing at some
joke.
By the time the sun dropped below the horizon, Billy felt slightly
more comfortable that his disguise might be effective and felt
pleased with his initial acceptance by the Sisters.
***
"Damn you horse! Come back here!"
The newest member of the future Monastery of Saint Francis,
glared at the reluctant old horse that slipped away from the
campsite. Beside him, Sister Angela chuckled as she gently
chastised her new sister's anger.
"Sister Mary Jane, don't raise your voice in anger against one of
god's creatures. I thought that Sister Bernadette told you about
our basic tenets earlier today. Let me tell you something about
the history of your new order. Our order is very old. Clare of
Assisi founded the Poor Clares of St. Francis back in the early
1200's. The man who later became known as St. Francis was so
wrapped up in God, that he saw all creation as being something
that God had given to us, and these animals are our brothers,
and sisters on this earth. He wrote this gorgeous canticle of the
creatures in which he praises God for brother sun and sister
moon, and brother fire, and mother earth, and the water, and
just all the living creatures, because he saw them all from the
hand of God. And so, our spirituality is very much wrapped up
in this type of feeling. So don't curse at the horse because he's
only doing what his basic instinct is telling him to do."
"Yeah, well I've some instinct myself and I'm feeling it in my foot
right now. Once I catch up to that old nag, my foot kicking his
ass is going to provide some guidance that he's going to find
difficult to ignore."
"That's because you're trying to catch him the way that a dumb
man would try to catch him. You're trying to catch him with
brute strength. Remember, you're supposed to be a Sister
instead of a dumb man. Why don't you try to catch him by
using your brains?"
Billy spun and stared at the woman whose face had a big grin
that made her white teeth almost sparkle in the dim sunset
gray darkness. Staring at her, he held back his anger as he
tossed her a challenge.
"Oh yeah. Well, I've tried everything for the last twenty minutes
except to shoot the damn thing. Suppose you show me how
you would do it."
Accepting his challenge, she made a movement as if she was
pulling something out of a pocket within her robe. Holding her
hand out toward the watching horse, she cheerfully asked the
horse as if the animal could understand her.
"Want a carrot?"
The old horse snorted, pawed at the ground with one foot as if
he clearly understood her question and rapidly walked toward
the woman. The horse stopped a few inches from the woman's
hand and smelt the carrot in her hand. She let him take the
carrot from her hand as she moved slowly to stand beside the
horse and to stroke his neck. Turning back to smile at the
dumbfounded new member of their order, the woman quietly
stated a principal that she felt the new sister needed to
understand.
"Most of the time, you can do more with a simple bribe than
with challenging one of your fellow creatures with angry words
or your fists. Remember my words, Sister Mary Jane O'Hara."
***
After dinner was completed and the evening chores completed,
everyone sat around the campfire as Sister Bernadette taught
the evening lesson. Sister Elizabeth read a few chapters from
the bible and Sister Angela quoted some verses. Neither Sister
Melissa nor the new Sister Mary Jane participated in the
evening services much beyond just pretending to be interested.
In the privacy of the small campfire, the women began to
prepare for bed. Sister Elizabeth removed her hood and began
brushing her long mane of silvery-white hair, while Sister
Bernadette walked off into the bushes to do her private
business. Sister Melissa pointed at the large wagon as she
announced the sleeping arrangements.
"Sisters Angela and Bernadette get the interior of the wagon
unless it's pouring down rain. In that case, we all crowd into it
and sleep however we can. In good weather, Elizabeth likes to
sleep under the front of the wagon and I've been taking the
ground under the back of the wagon so that I can have some
distance between her extremely loud snoring and me. However,
I've learned that she snores so loudly that you have to sleep
over a mile away before you're safe from her noise so any place
around here and you're going to hear her. You can take either
the spot under the middle of the wagon between us or take my
spot."
"Uh, I think that I'd better sleep under the old buckboard."
"Are you really him?"
She didn't have to say his name but he knew whom she meant.
"I used to be. I'm now just someone who is trying to go
somewhere else to start a new life."
"Aren't we all? Well, your secret is safe with me. I had to escape
a lynch mob myself and luckily ran into the Sisters. I'm not
going to stay with them forever because I intent to resume my
life as a saloon girl as soon as we get far enough away from here
so that I know that I'm safe. Until then, I'm going to treat you as
one of us girls."
There was an unspoken sexual challenge within her words that
he clearly understood.
"And after you're far enough away to be safe, how will you treat
me?"
She just smiled that mysterious smile that women have always
known how to smile and walked away from him without
answering his question. Going to the back of the wagon, she
pulled a bedroll out of the wagon and spread it under the back
of the wagon. Then she sat down on the bedroll, pulled her hood
back and began brushing her long dark hair.
Sitting down on the ground next to the burning campfire, he
threw another chunk of wood onto the fire. Sister Bernadette
sat down beside him as she held out a small hairbrush.
"This is an extra one that you may have. I suggest that you
begin nightly brushing your hair and then rebrush it in the
morning as well as putting some hairbows into your hair to hold
it in place. That way, if anyone gets too inquisitive and looks at
your face too closely, the hairbows and brushed hair will add to
your disguise. Also, I suggest that you get rid of those men's
boots tomorrow morning. Not only can I see them under your
habit but I can also hear them when you walk. I'll give you some
sandals in the morning."
Chapter 4 - A new look
The morning wakeup call by Sister Angela started him awake.
For the first several seconds, he felt confused as to where he
was at but as he saw the Nuns moving around, he quickly
recalled his new identity.
Rising to his feet, he followed the stream for a few hundred feet
as he got away from the camp so that he could do his business.
That's when he heard the splashing sound of something in the
stream. Peeping cautiously around a cottonwood tree, he saw
Sister Melissa standing neck deep in the water. Seeing him
looking at her from the shore, she pointed at a nearby rock.
"That's a good place to get in the water. Water here is deep
enough for both of us to have a little room and I'm almost
finished with my morning bath. I noticed that you strongly
smelled like a man yesterday. You're going to have start bathing
daily and washing your hair everyday or someone's sensitive
nose is going to discover your secret. You can use my soap.
Smells like Lilac but it'll help your disguise a whole lot if you
smell as pretty as you look."
As he pulled off his robe and boots, she lifted her arms and
began washing her hair. It was obvious from her bare arms and
shoulders that she was probably naked beneath the
camouflaging cover of the water. When he was stripped down to
only having on his long johns that he always wore, she laughed
at him.
"Those dirty things have to go also. Someone see those red
flannels underneath your habit and they're going to get very
suspicious about your real gender. I've got a petticoat that you
can have. It will add to your disguise as well as add a little soft
femininity to your clothing."
As he eased into the water still wearing his long johns, she
threw him the bar of soap and disappeared under the water as
she swam slowly toward shore. There was just a momentary
flash of white as her china-white butt almost came out of the
water before she swam slightly deeper under the water. A
moment later, she rose out of the water and it was very obvious
that she was totally naked as she proudly walked up onto the
shore. With her back turned to him, all he could see was her
smooth china-white skin and the swaying back of her womanly
shaped body. Her long dark wet hair flowed about half way
down her back but not far enough to hide her shapely white
cheeks and long lush legs. Stepping up on the shore, she picked
up her robe and pulled it over her body before turning to face
him again.
"Take those long johns off and give yourself a good bath. I'm
going to smell you when you come back to camp and if you still
smell like a stinky man, then I'm going to personally give you a
bath right after breakfast. You don't want me to do that because
I won't be gentle if I have to bath you. When you get finished
bathing, come to the wagon and I'll give you the rest of the
clothes that you're going to need. I suggest that we pad your
chest to give it a little shape so that you're not so flat chested.
After you've dressed a little more appropriately, I'll also help you
with your hair. A woman's hair always looks like it's brushed
frequently. Your messy hair yesterday looked like you've never
done nothing but stuff it up under a sweaty hat. There are some
minor things that you're going to have to do to make your
impersonation more effective. Getting rid of those boots and
walking in sandals will take a lot of the swagger out of your
walk and I'll help you practice some feminine movements so
that you look more natural and relaxed. I've had a lot of practice
in trying to look like a lady so I think that I can show you what
you need to know."
Then she was gone.
***
He held the bar of soap that she had left for him and it smelled
strongly of lilac. The soap that he always bathed with usually
smelled strongly of lye and wasn't the most pleasant stuff to
use. Hence his previous baths were typically just a "jump in the
water and splash around then get out" type of bath every three
or four weeks during the summer. He also usually bathed while
still wearing his long johns. Taking them off and actually
rubbing the soap against his body would be a new experience
for him. But he knew that she was right about everything that
she had said and that he needed to do everything that he could
to help his temporary disguise.
Standing waist deep in the water, he pulled off the flannelled
long johns and threw the well-patched undergarment up on the
shore where he would collect it later and put them away until
he was ready to wear them again.
Five minutes later, he came out of the water and shook himself
as dry as he could before he put the habit back on. As soon as
he was almost dressed, the sound of rustling garments startled
him and he spun to look at the source of the sound. Sister
Melissa was returning carrying a hairbrush, a petticoat and
some sandals. Holding out the petticoat, she explained the
reason for her return.
"Normally the rest of us don't wear a petticoat under our habits
but Sister Bernadette agrees with me that you should be
wearing as much finery as permitted by our rules so she is
permitting you to wear one petticoat. The pleasant soft sound of
the rustling material underneath your skirt will help with your
disguise by adding to your femininity. I also brought a
hairbrush back with me. Sit down and I'll help you with your
hair."
By the time that she had finished brushing his hair and he had
slipped into the feminine undergarments, it was time for
breakfast. As he walked into the campsite, he noticed that
Sister Bernadette had a faint smile on her face when she heard
the sound of the thin petticoat rubbing against his bare legs
under the habit's skirt.
***
Shortly after noon, Sister Bernadette announced that they were
all going into town to do some of the "Lord's business". Thanks
to Sister Melissa spending all morning with him practicing on
how to walk and how to act, the new Sister Mary Jane felt more
confident in his disguise as a Nun and woman. Sister Meli