Refuge Robledo Mountain 2 Chapter 15
- 2 years ago
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We skipped our exercises and practice for the second day in a row, in the interest of leaving town early in the morning before anyone else was awake. I’d paid for the room and stables for four weeks the day after we’d checked in. We still had two days of the four weeks left, so there was no issue with just leaving. After one last check of the room, we walked downstairs carrying the saddlebags and scabbards and slipped out the back door to the stables where we saddled the horses, added the scabbards and saddlebags, and loaded up the mules with their pack frames and panniers. We didn’t see a single person from the time we left the suite and rode out of Santa Fe.
The first hint of dawn was just a tinge on the horizon as we rode west, letting the horses set the pace in the dark. By the time it was light enough to see we were near my normal camping spot north of Santa Fe. A few minutes later we were in the trees and changing into our travel cammies one at a time while the other watched the road.
I made a small fire, so Anna could make coffee and we ate a breakfast of sausage dogs washed down with coffee. Although there was traffic on the road we didn’t see anyone who was obvious about looking for us. After a two hour break we took the opportunity of a break in the traffic to cross the road and start our large circle to the south passing well to the west of Santa Fe.
During our entire trip south, we stayed well away from the Camino Real. We pushed the animals, hoping to make twenty-five to thirty miles a day over the rough terrain. We saw no one during our trip, and arrived at the bowl camp in the Caballo Mountains at mid-afternoon, twelve days after leaving Santa Fe.
Anna was excited to be back in the bowl, but she wasn’t looking forward to the digging work. After almost three years out here by myself I could relate to her opinion, and agreed with her. We spent the afternoon unpacking our supplies and setting up camp. After supper, we talked about the gold mining we had to do with the same goal for this visit as the previous time. Anna mentioned that the longer hours of daylight would help us mine more gold during the day, but I cautioned her that it also meant less hours of melting in the evenings.
We spent the next three and half weeks, following the same routine we’d established on our previous stay. Since we were in a hurry to finish up, there were no half days off to explore. At the end of the three and half weeks, we had 5,120 bars of gold, and an extra seven or eight pounds of nuggets we could melt back at the Hacienda and store in the cave. The night before we left the bowl and started our trip to El Paso, Anna asked if we were going to do this again next year.
I smiled at her. “We’ll do it as often as we can my love. It will get harder of course, the bigger the Estancia becomes. It will be harder still, once we start having kids. Which reminds me, have you had any problems finding the right herbs to stop us from making babies, or are you having second thoughts about waiting until you are twenty-one to start having babies?”
“No, Pablo,” she said with a smile. “Getting the right herbs hasn’t been a problem and I haven’t changed my mind about waiting for babies. It’s going to take us at least that long to get established. Be warned, though! I’m not going to wait beyond then, regardless of how established the Estancia is or isn’t.”
The trip to El Paso was long and circuitous. The heavily loaded mules and horses meant we took our time. The closer we got to the Hacienda the more careful we were to make sure we weren’t seen. We skirted the base of the Doña Ana Mountains in the half light of early morning, getting to the road leading to San Augustine pass over the Organ Mountains just after noon.
We didn’t see any evidence of beef on the Estancia which meant Hector hadn’t made it back yet, and that concerned me a little. Anna and I both decided that was a worry for another day. What we did see, and got really excited about, was the progress that had been made along the upper half mile of the river land we owned. Granted, it was only the west side of the river, and it was still in the rough construction phase, but it was tangible proof that progress was being made.
We continued along the base of the Organ Mountains, until we were past Mesilla. Then we moved closer to the Camino Real, paralleling it for as long as we could before the landscape forced us onto the road for the final portion of the trip. The final night we stopped and set up camp in a deep arroyo, about five miles outside El Paso. I was a little worried about flash floods this time of the year but there wasn’t much we could do about it if we wanted to stay hidden until after we’d delivered the gold to Levi at the bank.
We spent the next day resting and letting the four mules recover a little from the journey. Anna and I were dressed in city clothes; although no matter how Anna was dressed, there was no doubting she was all woman and of good breeding. We road into El Paso just after 5PM and headed straight to the bank’s back door in the alley. The streets had been strangely quiet as we rode in and we were both beginning to get a little concerned.
Anna nervously guarded the horses and mules while I walked around to the front of the bank, where I discovered the bank was closed. As I looked around wondering what was going on, it dawned on me that it was Sunday evening. Cussing under my breath, I went back to Anna and told her what I’d just realized.
She relaxed slightly at the explanation, gave me a tender smile, and asked what we should do now. I’d thought about the options on my walk back to Anna, and told her I’d come up with four options.
The first option was to go back to the camp and wait until tomorrow night. I wasn’t really happy with that option, as the potential for flash floods got more real every day. The second option was to check into the hotel, stable the animals and gold-filled panniers, and be at the bank when it opened in the morning. I didn’t like this option, either. Even if we slept in the stable, the potential for curious stable hands was too great.
The third option was to go to the elder Greenburg’s and ask for their help in locating Levi. I knew Levi didn’t live with his parents, but was sure they knew where he lived and would gladly give us directions if nothing else. The problem with this option, was inquisitive neighbors and the additional traipsing around we would need to do.
The fourth option, which I was in favor of, was to spend the night at Raul’s stable where we would be assured of getting a warm reception, good food, and a soft bed, without worrying about curious stable hands. Anna listened to me, took a few moments to process the options and concerns, then agreed that staying at Raul’s was the best option.
We left the alley leading the mules, and arrived at Raul’s twenty minutes later. As we rode into the stable yard, a young boy was coming out of the closest stable building. Seeing us, he ran back into the stable, coming back out a few moments later, leading Raul.
Raul broke into a big grin at the sight of Anna and welcomed both of us. Anna took the lead, smiling at Raul and telling him we were beat and needed a place to stay overnight, for both us and the animals. Raul nodded agreeably, and told us our timing was perfect. Supper was going to be ready soon, and we were welcome to stay the night.
Anna regaled everyone over supper with stories of our adventures over the last five months. Without actually lying, she left everyone with the impression that we’d spent a lot of time north of Santa Fe before coming back south. She told the table we had some business at the bank we needed to take care of, and collecting some things we’d ordered before we were married, that we needed to pick up before finally getting back to the Estancia for the first time in five months. I did ask Raul about Hector, but he hadn’t heard anything yet, either.
Anna mentioned that it looked like the stables had fewer animals and asked Raul why. Raul grinned at her.
“Giuseppe’s shown up every month for the last few months with a team of five men, buying anywhere from six to sixteen mules each trip.” Raul’s smile turned to a grimace as he continued. “The town’s growing so fast that the land prices are going up. My land is wanted by numerous business men and groups, while at the same time the neighbors are pressing us to reduce the size of horse and mule herds to limit the smell and noise.” With a sad shake of his head he said, “It won’t be long before we’re going to have to either move further outside of town, or close the business down altogether.”
“Have you talked about this with grandfather?” Anna asked.
“I’ve exchanged some letters with your grandfather on the subject,” Raul admitted. “But there just aren’t enough people in Mesilla and Las Cruces to support another large stable. Jose did say in his last letter that there may be another option, but he needed to investigate it a little further before he could say anything else. As it stands right now, if I’m forced to sell, we’re going to lose whatever money we gain from selling the land on the lower prices I’ll get from selling the herd.”
I had a suspicion on what Mr. Mendoza was talking about, and the investigation he needed to do involved talking to Anna and me. Anna gave me a glance with a quick little nod. She knew, too.
“Would you rather work with draft animals or cow horses?” I asked.
Raul let out a deep belly laugh. “There isn’t much difference between them as animals. The real difference is in the training, and I can do both.”
“I might know of something if you’re interested?” I said evenly.
His eyes lit up with hope. “I’m always willing to listen.”
“The Estancia is in the process of building a very large stable operation to support our needs,” I said without elaborating.
Now he was intrigued. “How many head are you talking about?”
“Giuseppe works for the Estancia,” I responded. “All the animals he’s bought from you are for the Estancia. The mules are being used to pull the new wagons we’ve been buying, and will eventually pull both plows and farm wagons. I also hired Hector, in case no one’s told you, who’s bringing somewhere around eighty vaqueros and their families with him. They, with their remuda, are expected to arrive anytime now. By the time we are fully up and operational, I expect we’ll have around five hundred horses and two hundred mules. To the best of my knowledge the Estancia is still looking for a stable and wagon yard operations manager. Although Tom could have found someone while we were gone, I don’t think it’s likely. However, I do have to check first.”
By the time I was done talking, the whole table was staring at me in wonder. Anna gave a little giggle and said, “That’s the usual reaction the first time people got a glimmer of the extent of the Estancia operations.”
Raul’s oldest son, Rafael, asked, “Do you have a blacksmith yet?”
“We haven’t been home since the wedding, so we don’t know for sure. I suspect Tom’s still looking for one or more blacksmiths.”
“I’m the blacksmith for Dad’s business, as well as for most of the surrounding farmers and ranchers,” Rafael said. “I’d certainly be interested in working for an operation like the Estancia.”
For the next two hours we were peppered with all kinds of questions about the Estancia. The farm operations, the ranch operations, and the village of Dos Santos that was being built were all subjects of interest. Anna invited both Raul and Rafael to come and see for themselves what we were building, and where we were in the process if they were interested.
Raul and Rafael looked thoughtfully at one another and then at their wives before Raul said, “We need to talk about this. When are you going back to the Estancia?”
Anna told him we were going back the day after tomorrow, but they were welcome to come visit, anytime. We broke up shortly thereafter, with everyone heading to their beds. Anna told me she was sure there was going to be discussions well into the night instead of sleep.
We skipped our normal morning routine as the soft beds were just too comfortable! We ended up sleeping in. Once we were up and had eaten breakfast, we thanked Raul for his hospitality and invited him, his wife, along with Rafael and his wife to supper at the hotel. He accepted for all of them and Anna and I saddled the horses and packed up the mules before riding to the bank.
We rode into the alley behind the bank, where I left Anna guarding the gold and the animals. Levi was in his office and waved me inside when he saw me walking in the front door. I sat down at his gesture, and he leaned back in his chair asking what he could do for me today.
“Do you remember our original conversation about deposits and the different sizes you could expect?” I asked with a smile.
He looked thoughtful for a minute and then nodded. “Yes, I remember that conversation quite vividly.”
“The time has come for a large deposit. If you’ll open the back door, we can bring it in.”
He quickly sat upright looking to see if I was joking with him or if I was serious. When he saw I was serious he asked, “How large a deposit are we talking about?”
“Why don’t we go open the back door and see?” I responded with a grin.
Now he was really flustered and asked again if I was serious. I stood up and beckoned him to lead the way out of the office. On the way down the hallway to the back door, he gestured for one of the guards to join him. He opened the back door and I walked out to find Anna still guarding the animals.
Levi, Anna, and I started hauling burlaps bags of gold bars into the weighing room. When we were done, Levi’s eyes almost bugged out of his head as he gazed at the stack of burlap bags on the floor.
Anna and I sat down in chairs and watched as he went through the process of emptying the bags and weighing all the gold. When he was done he calculated the total, telling us that we’d brought in 25,600 ounces worth a total of $307,200 at $12 an ounce. We both nodded our concurrence with his figures.
“How do you want the money?” he asked, now fully back in his banker’s role.
“Put $30,000 in the Estancia account, and the remainder in our personal account,” I replied.
He nodded and asked if we were going to take any with us and I told him there was no need this trip. As we were leaving the bank he asked us what our plans were, and I told him we were going to check into the hotel, get a bath and spruce up a bit, see his father about some jewelry, and arrange for a few supplies, so we could start the return trip home in the morning.
We took the animals to the hotel livery stable and walked into the hotel carrying our saddlebags and scabbards along with a burlap bag each of clean clothes. I registered, asking for a suite for the night, and two hot baths in the room immediately.
On the way up to the room Anna sighed. “I’m really looking forward to getting home and not having to think twice about a hot shower or a bath.”
I laughed and reminded her that I’d said as much before we even started the trip. We entered the room followed by the expected progression of hotel maids hauling the tubs and hot water. While the baths were being set up in the outer room Anna and I unpacked in the bedroom. Anna managed to wait until I was closing the door behind the last of the maids before removing her clothes and getting into her bath.
I quickly followed her example and got into my bath. For the next thirty minutes we luxuriated in hot water and soap before the water cooled to a tepid warm brown mess. We dried off using the thick towels provided by the hotel.
As we were getting dressed Anna kept stopping and staring at the clothes she was putting on. She was still amazed at how nice the clothes looked, even after being packed in the bottom of the panniers for weeks.
As we walked to Mr. Greenburg’s we discussed the type and style of jewelry Anna wanted to have made. She finally settled on a matching set of earrings, bracelet, necklace, and ring.
Mr. Greenburg met us in the foyer a moment after we entered, and smiled at the sight of Anna. I was really starting to get an inferiority complex with everyone smiling at Anna. Shrugging it off, I returned his greeting just after Anna’s. He escorted us to his showroom before disappearing into the back. When he returned a minute later, he was carrying the usual black cloth bundle in one hand.
Setting the bundle on the counter, he opened it revealing ten gleaming pendants, bearing the same seal as our rings. Anna was entranced with the artistry but curious as I hadn’t told her about them. I gave her a small shake of my head, letting her know we’d talk about it later, before telling Mr. Greenburg they looked wonderful.
He smiled, pleased with the compliment, and pulled out ten small wooden boxes from underneath the glass display cases. Each of the boxes contained a silver chain and Mr. Greenburg carefully threaded a pendant on the chain before putting it in a box and moving on to the next one.
When he was done, he asked if there was anything else he could do for us. Anna nodded her head, and laid her bar of gold on the counter. Mr. Greenburg stared at the gold bar for a moment before raising a questioning eyebrow.
“I’d like you to make me a matching set of jewelry from the gold bar,” Anna relied in answer.
He asked her specifically what she wanted made, and she responded without hesitation.
“I’d like ear rings, a bracelet, necklace, and a ring. I don’t have a specific design in mind, but I want them to be elegant while making a statement.”
He nodded, hefted the bar in his hand, and then said, “This is a good amount of gold, but it isn’t going to be enough for what you want. I’ll have to order about an equal amount of gold.”
“Oh, no, that won’t do,” Anna said. “That gold I gave you is special to us.”
She started to turn my way when I put the gold bar I’d been carrying on the counter, and slid it towards him. He added the bar to the one in his hands and nodded his head.
“Just so that there’s no confusion, you want the jewelry made only from the gold in these two bars, and nothing else.”
Anna was starting to nod her head then stopped. “The only gold I want in the jewelry is what you’re holding in your hand. I want something I can wear without worrying about it getting bent or mangled just from wearing it. You use whatever is normally used to temper it so it’s stronger and will hold up longer.”
Mr. Greenburg smiled in understanding at Anna before pulling out his paper and pencil. I lost track of the specifics they were discussing, as I was busy looking at the pendants. Each one had the same clarity of design as our rings and was truly a work of art in its own right. When I finally focused back in on what the two were saying, Mr. Greenburg was asking if Anna was sure she didn’t want any stones set on the jewelry.
“Perhaps matching emeralds in all the pieces, my love? They would certainly look good on you.”
She looked at me with a stunned expression. “That’s too much for simple jewelry. It would be gaudy with emeralds wouldn’t it?”
“You said you wanted it to make a statement,” I said with a grin. “The emeralds would certainly add to the effect. And no, I don’t think Mr. Greenburg is capable of making gaudy jewelry.”
Mr. Greenburg had a thoughtful look on his face and was nodding in agreement with me. Anna thought for a minute, and then turned to Mr. Greenburg. “Emeralds would be nice, but I want the emeralds to enhance the gold not the other way around as is usually done.”
I could tell that he had a design in mind, and I asked him to show us what he was thinking. Taking his pencil and paper he drew steadily for a few minutes before turning the paper around and showing Anna the design he had come up with. In less than ten seconds Anna was sold on the design, and wouldn’t hear a word about any changes.
I looked at Mr. Greenburg and told him to write it up so we could countersign, and then we’d be on our way. We were out the door five minutes later with Anna holding on to my right arm with both hands still giving me one of her special smiles. I felt ten feet tall as we walked back towards the hotel.
We stopped at the bakery, butcher, and general store along the way, picking up what we’d need for two and a half days on the trail before returning to the hotel for lunch. We let lunch settle for a few minutes before going up to the room and spending our afternoon practicing our neglected katas.
We cuddled, drank coffee, and talked for a while with a kiss or two thrown in from time to time before deciding it was late enough to go down to the restaurant for a glass of wine before supper.
We were both very relaxed, having finished a glass of Anna’s favorite cabernet each and switched to coffee by the time Raul, Rafael, and their wives joined us for supper. Anna ordered wine for everyone, and we all enjoyed a relaxed and well-prepared supper.
As usual, the supper conversations seemed to break into two groups with the ladies holding their own conversations while the men held theirs. Every once in a while, the whole table would become involved in a single conversational topic, before moving back into the gender specific conversational groups.
We were nearing the time to break up the party when Raul told us that he and Rafael would like to visit the Estancia and asked what time we were leaving in the morning. Anna told him that we would leave right after breakfast which we planned on having at seven. He looked at Rafael who nodded and then told us they’d both join us for breakfast in the morning.
Less than twenty minutes later we’d seen them out the door of the restaurant and were entering our suite. Once inside, Anna took my hand and led me into the bedroom telling me we had a few days of exploring possibilities to make up for, since Raul and Rafael would be with us on the way back to the Hacienda. Anna kept amazing me with the sheer number of possibilities she came up with but, like the dutiful husband I was, I never complained.
Anna and I walked downstairs for breakfast the next morning carrying our saddlebags and scabbards a few minutes before seven, to find Raul and Rafael already waiting for us. After a round of greetings we got a table in the restaurant and ordered coffee and breakfast. While we were eating, Rafael asked how long the trip to the Estancia would take.
“It’s a little more than two days if we push hard or three full days if we ride at a more leisurely pace as we plan on doing. We’ll arrive at the Hacienda about supper time on the third day if we time it right,” I said between mouthfuls of eggs.
Raul started to ask more detailed questions about the current status of our plans when Anna stopped him. “Raul, you have to remember it’s been almost five months since we left the Estancia. We know what the plans were when we left but we have no idea as to what the current status is. We trust that Tom, Yolanda, Giuseppe, and Sofia have done their best to manage the plans and work around any unforeseen problems, issues, or circumstances that came up while we were gone.”
Raul and Rafael both raised their eyebrows when Anna included Yolanda and Sofia in her list of names responsible for running things while we were gone.
I laughed at their expression and said, “You’ll soon find that while the two women defer to Anna, they are just as much Doña’s of the Estancia as Anna is when Anna’s gone or unavailable.”
They were clearly unsettled by my use of the term ‘Doña’ for Anna, but I decided to let it pass as they still didn’t quite understand the magnitude of the Estancia and the operations we had planned.
Our horses and mules were ready and waiting for us out in front of the hotel. After adding our saddlebags and scabbards, we mounted up and the four of us started our trip to the Estancia. Anna and I with a feeling of excitement in expectation of returning home. Raul and Rafael with a mixture of trepidation and excitement at starting something new.
Raul and Rafael turned out to be very similar in that both were taciturn by nature and said little during the trip. When we stopped for lunch they started to dismount when Anna did, but she told them to stay in the saddle unless they needed to answer the call of nature as we wouldn’t be here more than a few minutes.
Sunday morning, we finally rolled out of bed at eight. I convinced Anna to try the shower with me. We talked about last night, laughing as we soaped each other up. All that shower fun really tired me out. I was very tempted to just go back to bed, but Anna insisted that we have breakfast and get ready for church. Anna got dressed, opened the curtains and French doors, and cleaned up the room. I unsuccessfully tempted her the entire time, trying to change her mind and enjoy the day in bed with...
Anna and I were both up earlier than normal; either from a good night of rest, excitement over the trip to Taos or, more likely, a combination of both. We did our standard Tai Chi and then an extended session of practice with me teaching Anna the next kata in her progression. At the rate she was going she would soon be ready to start learning Krav Maga. When we were finished I gave Anna a big smile, pulled her into a hug before giving her a big kiss, and telling her she was doing extremely...
The next week seemed to fly by as we instituted the various classes, continued settling into the hacienda, worked to turn the Estancia into a farm, and prepared for new arrivals; all while Anna and I prepared to leave on our honeymoon. The days always started with our early morning Tai Chi and ended with talking and singing in what was becoming known as the music room before Anna and I went off to explore whatever new possibilities she had thought up. As I expected, training the cousins to...
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I woke up suddenly, feeling the sun shining on my face through the windows and French doors of my bedroom. One moment I was blissfully asleep and the next I was awake. From the strength of the sunlight playing on my tightly shut eyelids it must have been near noon. I lay there, in absolute silence, trying to figure out why I was still in bed so late in the day. That proved to be too much effort, so I drifted back off to sleep. The next time I woke up, it was from a nightmare. A short...
We left Santa Fe for the Estancia three days later. Anna spent those three days shopping for the kids and rebuilding our supplies. I’d spent my time with the Judge, Lucien, Tom, and Hiram, reviewing information on ‘the Boss’, which remained slim to none. Between the four of them, and Kit’s friends and trusted contacts, there were over forty people reporting anything they heard about the mysterious ‘Boss’. Unfortunately, none of the friends and contacts had heard a word. It was frustrating to...
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Standing at the terrace railing with a light breeze blowing from the north while sipping a fresh cup of coffee the next morning, I watched the gaggle head down the slope before breaking into their separate groups. Giuseppe and Sofia with their escort of three of the cousins headed off towards the site of yesterday’s ambush. Tom and Yolanda rode out to practice shooting, while Miguel and the cousins led their group of farmers across the river to begin another day of Apache training. My mind...
We slept in a little later than usual the next morning. While late, we could have joined everyone for breakfast, but Anna had other ideas. She remembered my warning that we’d be missing both soft beds and hot water for the next month or longer. Rolling over on top of me, she said she wanted one more memory of a nice soft bed before we showered. Eventually we made it to the shower and enjoyed the hot water. After a good breakfast, we loaded up the horses and mules, and double checked our...
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We caught up to the wagons about half a mile out of Las Cruces, and slowed the horses to a walk next to the wagon the padre was riding in. Father O’Shea took in the shotguns and pistols we were all carrying along with the rifle scabbards. “You are all well-armed for such a short trip. Are all those guns really necessary?” he asked wryly. Tom barked out a laugh, and Anna responded with a grim smile of her own. “You just listened to us explain about the attacks in town and the large attack at...
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The stable boy had my wagon and mules waiting for me, after I checked out the next morning. I made quick work of loading the door and jambs on the wagon, before heading to the bank. Levi had everything ready to go, and in less than three minutes after I entered, I was back in the wagon and started for home. I spent another three butt numbing days getting home! The next morning, I loaded up the empty panniers on the mules, saddled up the horse, closed up the wall and house, and left for Las...
I checked out of the hotel and was at the restaurant a little before eight, getting my Anna fix. Just as Anna was bringing my coffee, Jorge and Giuseppe walked in together. While we were eating, I reminded them I had to get my horse and mules from the stables, and then make a few stops in town for supplies before leaving. I paid for the breakfasts, said my goodbye to Anna, and walked over to the stables. I spent a few minutes talking to Mr. Mendoza, while the stable boy got my horse and...
“I’m sure glad this is all over,” I said to Anna, four days later, as we were leaving our bedroom to get JJ and go downstairs to breakfast. For three of those days, Anna and I babysat the Greenburgs until lunch when we were replaced by Tom and Yolanda. That left my afternoons free to visit the various parts of the Estancia, usually with the older kids, as well as get in some shooting practice. The other day was spent in the Estancia meeting, where we reviewed the progress we’d made against...
I was up at first light, ate another MRE, and was on my way back to the RV shortly after 7AM. Although I was paying attention to possible threats, both animal and human along the way, I was replaying yesterday over and over in my mind. Finally, just before arriving at the little plateau and my RV, I decided that I had more information than my pea brain could handle, and I needed to let my subconscious work on it for a while. For now, I would act as though I was in fact in the Robledo...
“Wake up, Paul! Raiders are attacking the camp!” This was no whisper. Dream Laura was fairly screaming in my ear. It was just after daybreak, and Laura’s voice woke me to the screams, rifle fire, and shotgun blasts coming from the camp. I slipped on my boots, holstered the pistol, and grabbed my rifle. Once outside I ran to the edge of the plateau. With a quick glance I saw ten or eleven bodies around the outside of the mason’s camp, and a handful of men running away from the camp. Tom was...
As I’d warned during the meeting, 1858 and 1859 proved to be busy years for everyone associated with the Estancia and the various business enterprises. The Estancia got back to work after the holidays on January 3rd, the same day our guests left for their return trip home. The normal Estancia wintertime repair work continued on, although at a reduced pace, while ten teams were assigned to Tom and Giuseppe to quarry a hole at the southern end of the Robledo Mountains. That hole, measuring 200...
I was two days out from Trujillo Gulch and had just saddled up for the days ride, when the faint sounds of gun shots came from the east. Without thinking, I mounted up and rode towards the sound of the gunfire. I was two miles west of the Camino Real, and figured that was where the gun fire was coming from. As I rode, I realized what I’d done, and debated with myself whether this was really the smartest course of action. I may be a defender, but was I to be everyone’s defender? The thought...
Taking down the adobe bricks from the cave entrance, I thought about the next step that I dreaded so much. A heavy door of wood and adobe bricks was going to need sturdy support from the wood door jamb it was going to be hung on, which meant burying the jamb a minimum of nine inches. Digging down into nine inches of rock was not going to be easy. I started digging the hole for the left support jamb using the largest cold chisel and the heaviest hammer I had. The floor here didn’t seem to be...
The trip from the Hacienda to the meeting site was thankfully uneventful, although I must admit to having a sense of unease until we’d passed the area of the last mountain lion attack. The weather had moderated and become warmer, but we weren’t fooled. The seasonal spring winds were nearing their end, but we had to expect to have to deal with them, and dust storms, for the next couple of weeks. We arrived in the clearing mid-afternoon of the day before the meeting. Miguel, using hand...
I fell into a deep sleep, while watching a kaleidoscope of shadows dance around the room. Flashes of lightning backlit the curtains on the window. For the third time in as many years, and the second time in as many weeks, Dream Laura visited my dreams that night. She was getting stronger, as tonight’s visit had us sitting across from each other at the picnic table on the covered patio of our old house, the patio we had built together just after we’d bought the house. Everything seemed...
I made my way back through the courtyard and into the house heading for the dining room intent on having another cup of coffee. Before I could sit down, however, Mr. Greenburg saw me. “Paul, if you have time this morning, and you’re feeling up to it, Rachael and I would like to talk with you for a little while regarding our discussions before you were hurt.” A quick glance at Anna and with her small nod of approval, I replied, “Certainly, Sir. I’m at your disposal. How about we get a coffee...
At my insistence, we pushed hard on the way back home, knocking two days off the return trip. The dull ache in my shoulder hadn’t returned at all since we left the Hacienda, so I felt comfortable pushing a little harder. As we dismounted in front of the courtyard gate, I asked the cousin who took my horse to send a message asking Nantan and Miguel to dinner this evening. Saddlebags over our shoulders and carrying our bedrolls, we entered the Hacienda looking forward to seeing our wives and...
After the Monday morning staff meeting, I holed up in the study with Tom and Yolanda. I’d been wrong in El Paso. It didn’t take two days to give them the background and go over the tentative plans Anna and I had been working on. It took all week, and even then I’d just scratched the surface of the background. The major problem, as always, was trying to figure out how to answer their questions in terms they could understand. I tried to stay away from things they didn’t need to know about....
I was sitting in the restaurant the next morning, finishing up breakfast and thinking about how Anna’s smile seemed to make my day. I’d just taken my last bite when Anna came over with fresh coffee and sat down, giving me another one of my Anna smiles, and asking me what I had planned for the day. Swallowing my last bite and taking a sip of coffee I said, “I was hoping to talk my fiancée into spending the morning riding with me, and perhaps start learning to shoot. Do you think she would...
I woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than I had since the mountain lion attack. Stretching my arms out to my side, I looked at my right hand, flexed my fingers, and laughed at the thought that I could play the guitar again. I hadn’t realized until yesterday afternoon how much I missed it. Jumping out of bed, I ran through my tai chi exercises and the katas, before cleaning up with a basin of water, and getting dressed. I was whistling as I walked in the back door of the...
Tom and I were relaxing after breakfast, enjoying our umpteenth cup of fresh hot coffee when the ladies had decided we’d had enough time. “So, Pablo, you’ve had your breakfast and coffee, now tell us about the trip,” she demanded in an almost imperial voice. Looking around the table, I realized for the first time that Tom and I were the only men in the room. “As you command, my Lady,” I replied giving her a sitting bow. “But first, where is everyone?” “Well, it is harvest time, Paul. Tomas...
Early the next morning I awoke and stretched out on the queen size bed, luxuriating in the feel of crisp cool cotton sheets and thinking about how good I felt. All those minor joint aches and pains I’d learned to live with over the years simply weren’t there. And those dreams! I rarely remembered my dreams after waking, but somehow, I knew that I remembered every one of last night’s dreams. The dreams of my past, both good and bad. With a yawn and a final stretch, I got up and started my...
Although they were always on our minds, we put the unsettling spirit visits behind us and got on with our lives. I spent as much time as I could in the RV cave melting gold, but it was only a couple of hours most days, and the small mountain of gold seemed to defy my attempts to reduce its size. Giuseppe returned from his short trip to the base of the Doña Ana Mountains late Wednesday afternoon in a jubilant mood. Over supper he informed us that he’d found the rock we needed to build the...
I was up before first light the next morning. I found two of the ladies already up and quietly preparing to make breakfast for the camp. I walked down to the river and soaked my head in the water to wake me up, as well as help tame my hair. When I lifted my head from the river, I found Giuseppe and Hector had joined me. After relieving ourselves we walked back up to the campfire where the ladies handed us each a cup of coffee. We sat drinking our coffee and enjoying the quiet of the...
Standing at the opening of the cave, they stared inside in stunned disbelief. I cleared my throat, regaining their attention. “No one else besides you three know about this. I expect it to remain that way. The cave and what’s in it are never discussed outside this room, and then only if the door is closed and barred.” Handing Mr. Mendoza the lantern, I watched from the doorway as they wandered around exploring. All I could see was the soft glow of the light when they were in the smaller cave...
Six weeks later I was again lying in Mr. Mendoza’s hayloft. Tom’s even breathing and soft snores provided background accompaniment, as I marveled at everything that had happened in such a short time. With the exception of the six days Tom and I spent on a trip to El Paso, and a two-day trip to the Hacienda, the four of us had spent virtually all of our time together. The first morning of our two-week visit at the Hacienda they’d seen me practicing Tai Chi on the plateau in the early dawn....
“Good morning Maco,” I said, walking into the dining room for breakfast. “We missed you at breakfast yesterday and again at dinner last night.” “Good morning Paul, or rather, good night for me,” Maco answered wearily. “I just stopped by to have breakfast with Beth since I haven’t seen her for a couple of days.” “What have you been doing to be so tired?” “I was the Scout hidden behind you yesterday. All of us were in our hides at three yesterday morning and we stayed in place until three...
I was up early the next morning after a restless night, dreading the conversation Anna wanted to have. Walking into the restaurant I was surprised to get my normal Anna smile, hug, and kiss. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all. She pointed me back to my usual table and brought over two cups of coffee. Sitting down, she said that breakfast would be out in a few minutes and asked how I’d slept. “Not well. It was a restless sleep that had me tossing and turning all night,” I...
“¡Juan! ¡El hombre malo!” I yelled as Tom and I walked into his office the next morning. “¡Dios Mio!” he exclaimed. “You startled me,” he said shaking his finger at us before reaching for a towel to clean up the small amount of ink he’d spilled on the countertop. “It’s good to see both of you again. Let me put these books up and we can talk.” Tom and I busied ourselves getting coffee before sitting down at the small table. Juan grabbed his coffee off the counter and joined us. “So, my...
Before going to bed, Tom and I worked on the mortar shells in the den. “Paul are you sure this is going to work?” Tom asked skeptically, as he applied hide glue around the brass sides at the bottom of the 12-gauge shotgun shell. “It should work just fine, at least for the shotgun shells, Tom. The tricky part of all this is the caps in the top of the shells.” Squinting, I focused my mind on dabbing just a little hide glue on the percussion cap before sticking it inside the plunger cap and...
We were up early, and after breakfast, we rounded up the deputy and the stage coach manager before walking over to the bank. The four of us walked into the banker’s office over his objections. I closed the door and told him to shut up and listen, as Anna looked away to hide her smile. I asked the banker if the ‘Mayor’ had been up to date on his rental payments for the stable and house. When he said that he was current, I turned to the Deputy. “I want a complete inventory of the stables to...
The next morning, bright and early, Tom and I loaded up the wagon and drove it over to the back door of the bank, where Levi was waiting for us. I signed the withdrawal receipt and accepted a deposit receipt of $35,000 for the sale of 4,000 head of cattle to Richard King. We loaded the bags of money into the steel wagon box, locked it up, and drove it back over to the hotel. In the hotel restaurant, we found the ladies waiting for us, along with Richard King, a total of twenty vaqueros, and...
“Damn Paul! None of this was here two years ago! How many people live in this village?” The questions were coming rapid fire from Steve, as we sat on our horses looking out over the village from the hills. We’d insisted that Steve spend his first day on the Estancia recovering from his trip. The only thing remotely resembling a discussion of our plans, was getting him to accept that he would need to ride a horse to Austin and back. Well, that and convincing him that his chances of surviving...
Tom, Giuseppe and I were relaxing after lunch while we waited for the ladies to arrive. A little after one o’clock, one of the cousins came into the camp telling us that wagons from Las Cruces were on their way. I thanked him, and the three of us went up to the slope, where we used our monoculars to watch the wagons. There were ten heavily laden wagons about a mile away moving slowly up the road. With a groan I said, “My back is already starting to hurt, just thinking about unloading those...
I shared my dream with Anna the next morning before we got out of bed. She agreed with Dream Laura’s thoughts on both JT and ‘the Boss’, which didn’t really surprise me as I’d noticed before how alike their thought processes were. While Anna showered, dressed, and left to check on JJ, I sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, and tried to meditate, something I’d never really been all that good at. Maybe I was trying too hard or perhaps I was just too rusty, but a half-hour later, I gave...
In one way I was right. It was an interesting few weeks. In another way, I was wrong. It was not just a few weeks; it was fifteen weeks. It started shortly after breakfast that first morning. As soon as Steve, the Judge, and Hiram finished bringing me up to date on their activities, I asked Juan, Jorge, George, Heinrich, and Giuseppe to join us in the den. I had the territorial map spread out on the desk, watching as Steve finished up tracing all the new land purchases he’d made, when the...
“All right, Paul, it’s been two hours since we said goodbye to Frank and Lee and watched them ride southeast towards the Estancia. My curiosity is killing me, now tell me about Cisco and Frank like you said you would.” I had to smile. It had been almost twenty-four hours since I’d told Tom I’d tell him how I knew about Cisco and Frank. I knew his curiosity was about to burst. We’d left Tucson less than twenty minutes later, riding hard with Frank and Lee. With a full moon, we’d hadn’t...
My head was pounding! Somehow, around the pain, I thought, ‘After seventy some years, you’d think I’d remember never to mix distilled and fermented alcohol!’ I may have looked twenty years old, but I was well over seventy. Getting sent back over 160 year’s in time was bad enough. Throw in losing everyone and everything I knew, and it was even tougher. Losing fifty years off my apparent age paled in comparison, but it was rough, too. Well, losing the years, both in time and age, had its good...
Tom and I were becoming bored. The Segundos were all doing their jobs well. Cattle were being delivered on time, and the herd continued to grow. The land along the river was being cleared and prepared for planting, while early harvesting in the greenhouses had already started for some of the crops, like tomatoes. Building activities were continuing at a furious pace, with the fences, roads, water retention buildings, and School/Community Center all in different stages. We spent quite a bit...
I was on the terrace on a fine bright sunny afternoon, staring in horror at the list of things I’d come up with for Steve to do when he got back from Austin. No matter how I looked at it, I just couldn’t see how he would ever get everything on the list done in the time-frame we wanted. I was seriously starting to think that maybe we’d over extended ourselves this time, and we would have to push the time-frame out another year, when something in my brain sparked. I suddenly remembered a...
“What do you mean something funny is going on in the land office, Paul?” Steve asked. Tom, Steve, and I were in the family dining room going over our land plans one last time, after finishing a large breakfast. Anna, Yolanda, and the boys were with Mrs. Mendoza over in the house writing up the invitations after she agreed to host the meeting tomorrow. “I’m not sure what, but something just wasn’t right about the map in the land office when we were there the other day. In all the excitement...
Our final day in Santa Fe was hectic as Tom and I, with the ready assistance of the escort teams, gathered supplies for the trip home in the morning, and picked up the trunks, booze, and books that afternoon. With little fanfare, we departed Santa Fe the next morning after a good breakfast with the Judge, Hiram, Helen, and Steve. We assured all of them but most especially Helen that we’d be back the first week in November with the ladies and babies. Pushing the animals hard we travelled...
The mules didn’t seem to be laboring with the load, so I figured to make good time going back to the cave. By this time, I didn’t feel threatened between Las Cruces and the cave, but I stopped just out of sight of Las Cruces. I pulled my rifle out of the panier and put it in the seat box with me, just in case. I also made sure I could get to the pistol at my waist easily, before driving on. The trip was a little longer with the mule pulling the wagon but not overly so. As I drove and watched...
As I drove along the Camino Real, I sang “Fever” to the mules. They didn’t seem to mind. Then I opened up my mind to them on the various situations I found myself in. I talked about waking up 160 years in the past as a fifteen-year-old who few people took all that seriously, but with the experience and attitude of a sixty-six-year-old. I talked about my unsuccessful efforts to determine if this was all real or if it was just a psychotic episodic loop I was stuck in. I talked about the strange...
My goal was to reach Santa Fe in fifteen days. Unlike the last time I’d made the trip I stayed on the road pushing hard. I knew the route this time and wasn’t quite so concerned over threats. The first six days I averaged almost thirty miles a day, but the mules were starting to get tired, so I backed off to a steady twenty. This gave me enough time in the mornings to do my Tai Chi as well as the Aikido and Krav Maga katas. Except for the mornings I was in town, and the first six days of this...
We’d been sent to Saudi Arabia as part of a special operations unit, formed specifically to find and retrieve downed airmen from all branches of service, and all coalition countries. It was a mix of special operations forces from the Army, Navy and Air Force. The Air Force contingent, except for twelve Combat Controllers and six snipers including JT and me, were all Pararescue, otherwise known in the Air Force as PJs or Rescue Rangers. Pararescue is a unique group of special operators. When...