There was nothing like the smell of fresh, clean hay to clear a man's mind-and right now Ike McSwain was in desperate need of just that. Burrowing even deeper into the fragrant grasses, the mute Pony Express rider fought to bring some kind of sense and order to what had been going on in his life over the past couple of days.
Things had started going to hell the day Teaspoon had hired five new riders. Four of them were only in Sweetwater until a new station manager could be found for another home station in Needle Rock. The fifth rider would stay on at Sweetwater as a "relief" rider-that's what Teaspoon had called him-as if the six riders he already had working for him weren't enough.
It hadn't taken more than a few hours to discover that the one chosen to remain behind, a young boy by the name of Lawrence, was hopelessly out of his element. He didn't know one end of a bridle from another, could barely saddle his own horse and, to top it all off, had not only dropped the mochila on his first attempt to transfer the pouch from one horse to another but had actually fallen off his horse and landed smack dab on top of the bag in what had to be the only mud puddle for ten miles.
Still . . . there was something about the little guy. Ike couldn't quite put his finger on why, but he had found himself wanting to help from the first moment.
Maybe it was because Lawrence had kept trying in spite of the laughter. Or maybe it was because he hadn't been too ashamed to admit his faults and ask for help. And that, Ike decided, was where the real trouble started.
The first time Lawrence asked for help, the other riders didn't hesitate. Being the kind of people they all were, they all willingly lent a hand. The second time Lawrence asked for help, he got it-only this time Cody shook his head in disgust.
"It's like he's not even listening to us when we tell him what to do!" the blond rider had complained privately.
"Sometimes it just takes some folks longer to learn," Bart, one of the new riders, had countered. "Not everyone is as expert as you were the first time," he added with a hint of sarcasm that had made Cody bristle with anger.
The next time Lawrence had begged for assistance, Cody had lost his temper. "If you aren't going to pay attention, why do you bother asking?" he had yelled at the hapless young boy. "We all have work of our own to do and don't have time to help you with every little thing!"
That made Bart mad, of course, and he had told Cody to back off. Naturally all of the "old" riders had sided with Cody. They knew that being a rider was a dangerous job and if you weren't able to concentrate and adapt to any situation, you could easily end up dead.
Just as naturally, it seemed, the new riders had sided with Bart. The already tenuous situation in the overcrowded bunkhouse had become totally unbearable as the battle lines were drawn and the feud had escalated.
Ike had tried desperately not to get involved. Truth be told, he liked Lawrence. He didn't mind helping him learn and the boy was learning-slowly, but none-the-less learning. Ike had found that Lawrence wanted to learn how to be an Express rider more than anything in his life. He wanted it so badly that he'd been working really hard to learn sign language so he could communicate with Ike. Obviously he'd discovered that Ike was one of the few who was willing to help unconditionally, without laughing at him if he made a mistake. And he didn't seem to mind being laughed at all that much-as long as it wasn't done out of spite. He laughed at himself almost as often.
So the feuding groups had been pretty much even. With Buck off on a run and Ike steadfastly remaining neutral, there were four in favor of helping Lawrence and four in favor of him finding another, safer, source of employment. The arguments, if anything, got worse over the next couple of days. It wasn't so bad when they were out and about the station, but at night, in the overly crowded confines of the bunkhouse, tempers often flared.
The worst part of all was when one or the other of the groups would start in on Ike, trying to convert him to their cause. It was like neither of the sides could understand that Ike didn't want to choose-and no amount of "convincing arguments" was going to change his mind. Sadly, Ike had come to believe that the reason Bart and his pals were being nice to Lawrence had more to do with the feud than out of any real like for the young man. There was no real proof of that, of course, but Ike just had a feeling they were really laughing at the boy behind his back.
After two days of being harassed and cajoled by both sides, the mute rider had just about been at his wit's end. Finally, in desperation, he had gotten angry himself and told them all to just leave him alone. He would do what he wanted to do no matter what, he stated firmly. And what he wanted to do was not choose sides.
Things had seemed to settle down a bit after his display of anger. But, unfortunately, it had just been the lull before the storm. The fragile peace had come to an end when the full force of the feud had hit earlier that afternoon.
It had started off simply enough. Lawrence had asked Ike to help him practice the fast mount and Cody had made yet another senseless remark that had even riled Ike this time. Before he'd had the chance to say anything, Bart had gotten in Cody's face, telling him that his stupidity wasn't necessary and he should just shut up.
Teaspoon had come into the bunkhouse at that point with a stranger in tow, and, misreading the situation completely, had reprimanded Bart for being angry with Cody. The other new riders had begun arguing loud and hard that Cody had been at fault-and, of course, Jimmy, Lou and Kid hadn't been able to stay out of it-and suddenly the warring parties were almost coming to blows.
Finally, Teaspoon had slammed his fist down on the table with a loud bang. He'd ordered everyone to just shut up and told the lot of them that if there was any more arguing he was going to make sure that whoever started it would be too tired to argue after he finished the extra chores that the station master would arrange for him to do.
That hadn't gone over well at all. Bart had started muttering about "censorship" and how a body ought to be able to say anything he wanted because heck, even the constitution guaranteed folks the right to free speech. In passing, even though in this particular instance he agreed with Bart, Ike had considered it interesting that rider's protest seemed to only apply to himself and not to Cody who was only speaking his mind as well.
Bart must of thought Teaspoon couldn't get any madder at that point-but he was wrong. The stationmaster had flushed so red, Ike had worried that he was going to have a stroke. Were it not for the stranger who chose that moment to speak up, the older man might very well have popped Bart in the nose.
Luckily for everyone concerned, the stranger turned out to be the new stationmaster the four new riders had been waiting for. Ignoring what had been going on, the man had simply ordered the four to get their gear and be ready to leave in ten minutes. Turning to Lawrence, he had then suggested maybe the boy would want to come with them. To Ike's dismay, the boy had jumped at the chance.
Ike's musings were interrupted at that point by a voice calling his name. Looking down from the loft, he realized that Lawrence was looking for him. The mute slapped the board flooring of the loft to get the other boy's attention, then motioned for Lawrence to join him.
"I'm getting ready to leave now," the boy told him after climbing to the loft and making himself comfortable in the hay. "I just wanna thank you for everything you done for me."
Ike motioned his dismissal. He had nothing to write on and Lawrence didn't understand sign well enough to say anything more.
"Well you did help me, Ike," Lawrence protested. "Whether you wanna admit it or not."
Sighing, the boy settled back in the hay. "I know I ain't much of a rider," he admitted. "But I'm gonna keep trying. I know I can learn if I just keep trying."
Ike nodded his agreement. Just be careful, he signed as simply as possible.
"I will!" Lawrence promised fervently. "At least you won't have to put up with the feud no more," he added wistfully.
Before Ike could protest, the boy continued. "I know it's been rough. And I know that Cody and Jimmy and Lou and Kid are only trying to look out for me, but this is something I really wanna do."
Ike grinned and nodded a second time. He knew that feeling perhaps even better than Lawrence did. You'll be fine he signed firmly.
"Well, I gotta go now," the boy said, rising to his feet. "Thanks again. Be seeing you 'round I hope."
Ike stood in the loft watching as the group rode away. Lawrence was the only one to turn and wave.
The feud probably wasn't over yet, Ike reckoned. He was sure that Cody would still complain about Bart and Bart would probably be bad-mouthing Cody in Needle Rock, but at least the other station was far enough away that they wouldn't have to see each other very often. With any luck, they would keep their words amongst themselves.
"IKE! "
The mute jumped as Teaspoon's roar reached him. Hurrying down the ladder, he ran to see what the other man wanted.