His to Protect

His to Protect >Chapter 4

His to Protect 

Chapter 4 

When Mark turned around, he saw Jake riding into camp, before jumping off his horse, then walking over to a nearby tree, and tiring his horse's reins to a low hanging tree branch. Jake walked meeting Mark half way into camp and both men shake hands, as they turned around heading back to Mark's campsite. 

Jake checks out the covered wagon parked not too far away, as he turns his head he realizes there are three men are lying on pellets a few feet away from campfire. Jake scans over Mark's face then glances over Mark's shoulder sees an older looking woman looking a lot like Lori but older jumping down from the wagon. 

He glances back to Mark before looking around again seeing another young woman talking to a younger man. 

"You care in telling me what in the hell is going around here, why all these people doing here? Or are you just going to let me stand here and guess." Jake question as he was rubbing his neck.  

Mark starts laughing at the look on Jake's face, but he took pity on the poor man, by telling him. "Well late last night that wagon came rolling, with Lori's whole family inside plus two friends. They told us the whole wagon train they were with was attack by renegades Indians not far from gold mining settlement in the black hills. After the attack, they found out there the gold mining settlement finding out they didn't have any mining doctors there. The rest of the wagon train decided to stay there and dig for gold before going on their way. I guess they got the mining fever, or whatever. Anyways, Lori's family decided they did not want to stay with them benign wounded and all, so they came back here." 

"OK, I get that, Mark, but why are those men lying over there, if you don't mind telling me? Furthermore, how bad were they hurt? I might be able to help them, then again I might not." Jake was still looking around the campsite as he was saying this. 

"I really don't know yet, Jake. I haven't really talked to them this morning or much last night, to see how badly they were hurt. All I know for sure is what David told me last night when they rolled in. I was just getting ready to find out how bad they are when you rode into camp." Mark saying as he started walking over to where Steve and other men were laying. 

"Come on Jake, and I will introduce you to my father-in-law, Steve Andrew, and to the man who was running the wagon train and his scout Billy. Hopefully we can find out what really happen and then you and I can get back to work." Mark said over his shoulder as Jake was following.  

Mark kneed down beside Steve and asked him, "How are feeling buddy?" 

Steve looked up from where he was lying, as his son-in-law and another man came closer to him. "Well I wish I could say I was feeling great, but that will never happen. If you want to know the truth, I hurt like hell, but you had better not tell my wife that. Because, knowing her she will never let me get up or moving around anytime soon. You know how women are, if they think you are hurting in anyway, they're be a mother hen, and never let you up for nothing." He was rolling his eyes as he was telling Mark about his wife or any woman. 

Mark can hardly stop from laughing watching Steve's face as he was making faces as he was talking about his wife. Mark had to glance down to the ground as he was shaking his head, so Steve would not see him smiling he said changing the subject. "Can you tell me Steve what really happen out there? Because, all Windy told Lori was to ask you how it all happen. Therefore, I am asking you, now. " 

"As I recall," Steve started saying as he tried to set up. "We were going through a mountain pass, you know, with mountains on each side of us, just like before. You remember?" Steve was looking off into the distance as if seeing it all played out in his mind. "The entire wagons were going in single file; everything was looking pretty quest when we started in. I guess we were halfway through when I heard the first gunshot benign fired. Then all hell broke out. We couldn't form a circle to protect ourselves, so we had to fight where we were. I'm guessing there were at least ten to twenty of them up there in the mountains rocks. They were so well hidden behind those rocks. They were picking us off where we stood. When it was all over with, we had ten dead in all, and three of us wounded, and that was Henry, Billy and me. How we got away I will never know."