Retreat Robledo Mountain 3 Chapter 20
- 3 years ago
- 20
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The small slim man, known as ‘The Boss’, was almost swallowed by the overstuffed chair in which he was sitting. Drinking from a large glass of whiskey, he reflected on his life as the mantle clock softly chimed in the new year.
His wife, an abstemious young lady, was asleep in bed, and had been for a few hours. Their only real fight in almost eleven years of marriage, had centered on the fact that she was a lark and he was a night owl. Neither could understand the strong biological drives of the other’s circadian rhythm.
He snorted as he thought of the term marriage. His was a sham as far as he was concerned, although, for some unfathomable reason, she loved him and tried her best to please him in every way imaginable. He had married for money, and the associated power it brought. His family was relatively well off but hers was old money, and as an only child all of it would be hers when her parents died. In the meantime, they provided her a nice allowance. That allowance, combined with profits from the store, was used to support their rather luxurious public lifestyle.
The money from his family, never talked about, was in a separate account. He used it to fund his various shady, usually illegal, schemes. Schemes designed for one purpose, obtaining what he thought of as real power. The fact that most of the schemes resulted in more money in his bank account was a secondary benefit, as far as he was concerned. He privately thought of himself as a puppet master sitting unseen behind the curtains, pulling the strings of those in power.
From his point of view, he’d been quite successful at pulling the strings of those in power, both political and business, back in Massachusetts and again in St Louis. He was still remembered, and well respected in both places, although it had been a close-run thing in Massachusetts.
The two thugs he’d hired as the faces for his various blackmail and strong-arm activities had performed brilliantly for almost five years before running afoul of an incorruptible new sheriff and a stiffly moral old judge
Someone in the gang the two thugs ran had talked, and with warrants out for their arrest he had decided to protect himself. A little cyanide mixed in the whiskey he gave them at the abandoned farm they used for their weekly meeting, followed by a fire, prevented the only two people who knew he was the real leader from ever telling their tale. Unfortunately, it also meant an end to his string pulling, unless he wanted to take a more visible role, which wasn’t going to happen.
Three months later, new bride in tow, he moved to St Louis, using the age-old excuse of exciting new opportunities on the frontier. St Louis wasn’t quite the frontier he was expecting. As a matter of fact, it was down-right civilized. Still, it was raw enough he saw opportunities to accumulate real power, everywhere he looked.
He spent the first few weeks getting a feel for the town. Telling his wife that he was looking for just the right business opportunity, he would leave early in the morning returning home late in the evening. Eventually, he decided to start on the riverfront. With great care, he put together a gang of tough, often violent, river men, and mixed in a few clerks from the larger riverboat companies. In almost no time he had control of virtually the entire river front, skimming money from everything coming in or going out of the city through the addition of special fees and taxes. He also had advance notice on everything being shipped out, as well as arriving.
While he was gaining control of the riverfront, his wife was losing patience. She was bored in this raw town of dirt roads and uncouth men. When she had lost all patience, he tried to explain that trying to determine just which business to start, was complicated. She snorted and with derision told him that if he’d asked her she could have told him what St Louis needed after less than a week of being here.
He listened to her describe, in detail, what was needed and where it should be located. He could see she was very serious. When she was done, he agreed with her just to shut her up. He quickly found and bought the building she told him would be perfect, and promptly turned everything over to her. His name was on the front of the business, but it was all run by his wife, who turned out to be very good at it. In no time at all it was a thriving concern, with a reputation for stocking the latest, and most well-crafted products.
While she was building the business, he found a very nice large house in the very best section of town, bought it, staffed it, and gave it to her as a surprise gift, for doing such a good job with the business. Of course, he was also starting the second leg of his power pursuit triangle. He formed a second gang of slightly more personable toughs, and had them sell ‘business insurance’ to the second-tier businesses and below. It didn’t matter what business it was, they bought insurance or found their stores ransacked, their inventory stolen, or burned down to the ground.
The final leg of his power triangle was the most time consuming, and had been underway since a few days after his arrival in town. He learned who the political and business leaders in town were. With that information, he started watching where their secretaries and clerks lived, where they had lunch, and who they socialized with.
Before long he’d found just the man he wanted. Jeb Williams was a disgruntled yet highly sociable young man, who clerked for a well-respected lawyer. With a little digging, he found the young man was involved in numerous shady deals, using information he’d overheard the lawyer and clients discussing. He hired Jeb as his valet and personal assistant.
The young man became much more than that though, as he continued to socialize heavily with the other clerks and secretaries, often buying rounds of drinks or paying for supper. The private information he obtained was priceless. Soon, virtually every business and civic leader was being blackmailed to one extent or another. Rarely was money asked for. No, the currencies being used in this leg of power, were information and political votes.
For almost six years things worked better than he’d ever expected. He was a well-respected business man, and civic leader, who outwardly supported all the right civic activities and political leaders.
Thanks to his wife, his business grew to be the largest of its kind, West of Ohio. He was also making money hand over fist from his water front and protection gangs. The heady days of building his triangle of behind the scenes power were long over. And that was the problem.
He was becoming bored.
He recognized boredom would soon be followed by complacency, and complacency would quickly become sloppiness which would, sooner or later, result in arrest. He had no interest in the seedier side of the criminal world, robbery, theft, prostitution, and gambling; and he already controlled everything else. He began to worry more and more.
Two unexpected events occurred that quickly cured his boredom, and his worry. The first event was a letter from his older half-brother, an Army officer. He’d never understood what their mother had ever seen in the first man she’d married. He’d apparently been a rigid conformist and proved himself an idiot, by getting killed by a falling tree in a heavy storm, leaving his wife and four-year-old son with a nice farm, and a little money, but not much else.
Less than two years later the woman was remarried to a much more successful man. He was born ten months later. By the time he was five years old, he knew that his brother was a follower, not a leader. By the time he was ten, he knew he was much smarter than his brother. More importantly, his brother knew it as well.
Shortly after he turned ten, he told the older boy to get an appointment to West Point, and make his way in the world as an Army officer. The older boy listened, and with his step-father’s help, secured an appointment. While he’d flourished at West Point he did surprisingly poorly with the army’s bureaucracy, receiving infrequent advancements, and then only when his family’s contacts were in power.
He’d written that he was conducting an inspection of army posts in Texas and New Mexico Territory. He was in Santa Fe for a few months, waiting for spring before resuming his travels. So far, the results of his inspections were abysmal. Almost every post was built of adobe which was falling apart and leaked excessively. The food was even worse, with little fresh meat and almost no vegetables. Between the terrible buildings and bad food, the men were chronically ill.
Here were two new opportunities to gain more behind the scenes power, this time with the Army. After some thought, he wrote his brother back with detailed instructions on how to make both of them a little money, while increasing his influence within the command structure.
He also sent him the names of two men. The first would provide the stone to replace the adobe, while the second would provide all the cattle the Army wanted. Both men would send invoices with inflated prices, and the half-brother could collect the difference.
The second event was the decision by Jeb to leave his service, for better opportunities in New Mexico Territory. When pressed, Jeb told him there were two opportunities. The first was working for his brother-in-law as a Town Deputy Marshal in Santa Fe. The second was working as a comanchero for a friend of his in the Southern part of the Territory. His plan was to meet his friend in the Comancheria in three weeks, and then travel to Santa Fe to meet with his brother-in-law, before deciding which job to take.
He rapidly put all the pieces together, and within seconds of hearing what Jeb had told him, he was excited again. Boredom and its attendant worry were quickly forgotten. Here was a once in a lifetime opportunity to not only control a city, but an entire Territory; and not just any territory, but one that was larger than the state of Texas. Granted, there were far fewer people in New Mexico Territory than in Texas, but early control would most certainly lead to much bigger things in the future. He dismissed Jeb, telling him they’d talk more in the coming days.
The more he thought about it, the more he liked the possibilities. His half-brother and a gang of comanchero thugs initially controlling the south, and Jeb, a known quantity as Deputy Town Marshal, to build his base around in the north.
Add to that all the positions of power where two-year political appointments could easily be influenced, bribed, blackmailed, or killed. The combination was just too good to pass up! But, he needed more information to be sure.
He needed to meet the comanchero leader to see if he could be controlled, and he needed to experience Santa Fe for himself to make sure it wasn’t full of do-gooders who could wreck his plans even before they started.
Accordingly, the next morning, he told Jeb he was going to the Comancheria and Santa Fe with him. He told his wife he was going to Santa Fe to try and get a cheaper source of materials, bought a horse and saddle, and rode off with Jeb, as planned.
The leader of the comancheros turned out to be a typical Hispano thug, who spoke very broken English. He seemed to have enough brains though, to recognize the benefits of having a fort commander willing to help his raids along. With that relationship established, he and Jeb rode for Santa Fe.
Santa Fe turned out to be a mixed bag of good and bad. The town was well laid out with wide main streets, although the predominant adobe architecture left much to be desired. The business district was large and bustling, with a wide variety of establishments, although most were owned by Hispanos who seemed to lack the ability to master English.
The same was true of the general population at large, which was composed mostly of Hispanos. As best as he could tell there were fewer than 400 white men in the whole damned town but they did seem to run almost everything of importance.
The warehouse section of town was a gold mine, just waiting to be tapped. The Anglo led civic organizations and political leadership, while strong, were disjointed at best. The territorial legislature was another area that, in his opinion, was a joke and ripe for a takeover, even if many of the legislators were Hispanos.
All in all, while things weren’t perfect, it would do very nicely as his base of operations. The decision made, he rode back to St Louis, and informed his wife they were moving to Santa Fe.
It took another four years to make the move a reality. It also required a lot of compromising with his wife, including his agreement that it was time for babies, before she agreed to move. She demanded they retain the house and staff in St Louis, as well as promote one of the store clerks to manager rather than sell the store; and again, he acquiesced.
During that four years he began building what he thought of as his empire in Santa Fe. Working through Jeb, he began to put the pieces in place to build a gang and gain control of the warehouse district. All the while, he was working to gain control of the comancheros.
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...
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Leading all five of my horses, I walked into the Las Cruces of 1850 for the first time late that afternoon about four, after nearly a full day of walking. Mr. Mendoza’s Livery Stable and Freight Yard was easily found. The first person I saw directed me to the distinctive building with the wooden second floor at the north end of town. Luckily, Mr. Mendoza was outside talking to a young boy. When he saw me, he looked surprised. He quickly dismissed the boy, telling him to muck out two specific...
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...
We both woke up in the middle of the night to a crashing, raging, howling storm blowing outside. The rainy season had begun with a vengeance. We’d fallen asleep without closing the French doors, which were still standing wide open. Gusts of wind came blowing through periodically, causing the curtains to billow up and swirl around the doors. I got up to close the doors and Anna asked me to leave one of them open, so we could hear the rain and watch the lightening. I returned to bed to find...
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...
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...
As the day of Tom and Yolanda’s wedding approached, activity around the Hacienda exploded. We were expecting fifty people from Las Cruces to begin arriving three days before the wedding, all expecting accommodation at the Hacienda. Luckily most of those people were Yolanda’s extended family, so putting as many as five or six into a single room wasn’t going to cause much concern. Regardless, for the very first time, every room in the Hacienda was going to be used. Every room was assigned to a...
When we left for Las Cruces Thursday morning, it was with the knowledge that Miguel had a team scouting either side of the road a mile ahead of us for the entire trip. That settled both Anna’s and my nerves, significantly. Beth and Izabella opted to ride in the wagon with the baby while Celia drove. She had asked to go with us for reasons of her own, which I privately hoped included seeing George during the visit. I still couldn’t figure out the situation with Izabella and Alejandro. They...
We found Juan inventorying a large stack of adobe bricks on one side of the yard. His back was to us as we walked up, and we heard him mumbling something under his breath about crazy stupid Anglos. Tom and I grinned at each other. I cleared my throat, watching Juan jump and turn around with a startled look on his face. “I hope it isn’t us you’re mad at, Juan. I just got back, so it can’t be me.” He laughed and said, “No, it’s those soldiers at the fort. They can’t make up their minds...
We pulled out of the Hacienda bright and early on Thursday, the 11th of October, 1855, right on schedule. By we, I mean Tom, Yolanda, Anna and me along with Raphael, who was driving the wagon we were taking with us, and a team of vaqueros who were going along for security. The wagon Raphael was driving was one of the original wagons, with the steel box bolted behind the driver’s seat. Tom and I had loaded the box with 2000 gold bars late the night before. The Estancia was getting low on...
I led a procession of four teams, the wagons, and the final four teams down the road. Instead of staying on the Camino Real to Mesilla, I detoured to Las Cruces, rode down the middle of Main Street and then on to Mesilla. By the time the day was done, everyone in Las Cruces and Mesilla was going to know who I was, and that neither I nor the Estancia Dos Santos was to be trifled with. Entering Mesilla, I slowed my horse until I was beside the lead vaquero. “Rodrigo, when we get to the plaza,...
“What can I do to help?” I asked Anna after breakfast the next morning. The ladies were clearing the family table, to start getting the room ready for the meeting set to start in a couple of hours. Tom, Steve, and I were finishing the last of our coffee, and from the way the ladies were moving through the room, it was very apparent that we were in the way. Anna beamed me one of her smiles and gave me a small kiss. “Take these other two, and go keep grandfather company. You three will only...
“Mi Pablo, please get your work done quickly, and stay safe,” Anna said quietly with tears in her eyes. We were standing in front of the restaurant holding each other closely as we said our goodbyes. “My love, I promise not to fight any windmills on this trip, and I’ll do my best to stay out of trouble. You take care of the kids, keep the Estancia running, and stay safe while I’m gone. I’ll be home as soon as I can,” I told her while thumbing the tears from her eyes. She nodded, gave me a...
It seemed like the entire Estancia had turned out to wish us all safe travels. Both sides of the road, from the bottom of the slope to the bridge were lined with people, as were both sides of the road from the opposite side of the bridge to the Camino Real. Anna and I sat on our horses at the top of the slope, watching the procession of ten outriders, twenty escorts, the coach, four gold wagons, a supply wagon, and twenty more escorts move down the slope, across the bridge, and up to the...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
The second week in Santa Fe started out much as the first had gone. I spent the morning with Anna who had narrowed down the selection of cutlery to two different styles and now needed me to help her make the final selection. As usual we both liked one pattern over the other, so the cutlery was paid for and consigned to Mendoza Freight for delivery. The china pattern was a different story. Anna still couldn’t find anything she liked, so I suggested she explore the possibility of getting a...
“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...
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...
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...
We rode into my usual camp in the copse of trees just north of Santa Fe two weeks later. Her wounds were healing nicely. She hardly seemed to notice the wound in her arm at all, but was still slightly favoring her side. However, we were both tired. Tired of riding, tired of trail food, tired of sleeping on the ground, tired of being dirty, and just plain tired. I helped Anna off her horse, took her in my arms, and hugged her tight giving her a big kiss in the process. “One more night of...
I left Tomas alone for a few days. He went to the village and rode along the river with Jesus and others he’d picked from the files. He was getting a feel for the land where he was going to be responsible for growing crops. The day before the election, Tomas asked to see me after breakfast. I asked Clara to send a coffee service up to the terrace and Tomas followed me upstairs. We sat down at a table enjoying the early morning sunshine. As I poured our coffees I asked Tomas what was on his...
We all rode out after breakfast the next morning. The half day ride was quick. We all saw the Estancia through George’s eyes, as he talked about what a change there had been since his last trip north along the Camino Real. Crossing the river just before noon, we rode up the slope and I discovered that this was the first time he’d seen the Hacienda in all its glory. We gave the horses over to the cousins, after pulling our weapons and saddle bags off. Anna and I led George through the...
“¡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...
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...
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...
I sat at the picnic table on the patio looking out at the nightly spectacle of glorious colors as the sun set behind Picacho Peak. A song with a snappy beat wafted softly over the outside speakers hidden in rose bushes climbing up both sides of the patio on their trellises reaching for the roof. I couldn’t quite make out the words to the song, but it was very familiar. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe I was actually back in my twenty-first century home. But I did know better. “You’ve...
After breakfast, the next morning, we all went our separate ways. The Padre, Yolanda, and Sofia were taking her kids to school while Alejandro went out to visit his cousins on the upper plateau. He was a little sad to see the others leaving but brightened up when Anna said he would be starting school in a few days and would go with them in the mornings. Tom and Giuseppe went off to check the dams and the quarry. I told Cristina we were going to be using the study most of the day and asked her...
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...