Bill's expression changed. He gripped my shoulder, pulling me away from the front of the post office and off to the side. "What do you mean? Did you see him in the cell?"
My hat fell off my head. "No." I said, picking it up.
"Were you followed? How much did she tell you?" His eyes went left to right, looking at the horses and people walking across the ditch road.
"Followed?" My head turned from the stable across the road to the small saloon two steps beside it. I couldn't gather what was going on from him. People outside the post office were looking at us from his frantic actions. I lowered my tone. "Bill, calm down. I don't understand what's going on?"
Bill bit his finger. "Okay, okay. What exactly did she say?"
"It's like I said earlier that Karen said that they took the southerner in the mountains."
"Did they see anything that he had or what he was with?" Bill asked.
"Karen mentioned nothing of the sort. She wouldn't follow me either, Bill, and she doesn't know you. Slow it down and explain to me exactly what the hell have you gotten yourself into."
"Okay, okay, but we can't talk here. Let's get on the road and make a stop. I have a camp nearby."
I nodded as Bill released my shoulder. It didn't change the uneasiness in his eyes. He walked towards the medicine wagon, and I returned to my horse. He pulled out onto the ditch road, and I followed beside him. We rode out of town. The sign above said, Leave Your Revolvers At The Police Office, and Get a Check.
The ride began quietly, except for Bill's occasional glance now and then.
"What have you done, Bill?"
"Business is just business, that's all."
I contemplated those words as the surroundings changed from plains to the forest surrounding us on both sides, and the number of people on the road lessened.
"Are you sure that it's the same southerner?"
"How many southerners are going to be on Yukrit Mountain, Ron?"
"I guess you're right."
"Make the turn here on the left," Bill said.
I followed what Bill told me and made the left, which led me to some tracks in the woods. The sun was shining from above. I reckon it had to be about mid-day, following the path I pulled ahead of Bill. I stopped by a camp where two men and a woman were seated, with pitched tents and drinking coffee. One was wearing clothes that resembled the old army, and the other looked like he had now turned into a man one or two summers ago. The woman wore a dress and was unladylike between the two. Behind them were horses. One was well maintained, and the other looked like it had seen a hard time.
"Who are you?" the older man called.
"I am with Bill?"
"What Bill? What is the code?"
"What code?"
Their hands drew closer to their barking irons. Bill pulled up behind me, getting off his wagon.
"It's okay!" Bill shouted towards them. He got off his horse. "He's with me."
I dismounted my horse. The two men regarded me again. "I mean no harm. I work with Bill."
The silent woman didn't seem to pay me much attention after Bill spoke.
"What do you work with Bill doing?" one man asked.
"I help him sell his magic bottles," I replied.
The two men laughed. "The famous medicine man of Bagha," they both said simultaneously. Their hands moved away from their barking irons and sat back around the camp.
"Don't pay them any mind," Bill said. "They just like to be difficult. Now we are out here, I can talk freely."
"Weren't you supposed to be coming back late today?" one man asked.
"Change of plans." Bill's hand scratched his forehead. "A very big change of plans. The southerner is in jail."
Coffee spilled onto the ground, and the younger man drew his gun, looking around the forest as if someone was watching him. "I thought you said he could be trusted, Bill?"
"Is this man in it, too? Were you followed?" the older asked, pointing his gun at me. "We need to light a shuck, Bill!"
I raised my hand slowly. "Listen, I am as lost to what's going on as you."
"We weren't followed, but we found out today that he's in jail. The facts add up," Bill said.
"We gotta get out of town, Bill. You know what will happen if we can't deliver what we promised. We already got the actual, and we already spent a lot," the older man said.
"Bill," I said, "You still haven't told me what's going on?"
The youngest spat on the ground. "Bull Prosecutors."
What?
"We need some bottled courage," the older man said.
The two men watched me with uncertainty. Bill fidgeted, moving up and down in a line. The older of the two men withdrew bottled courage out of his satchel. He placed it to his lips before handing it to the younger, who finally gave it to Bill. Each man drank from his right hand to show his intention.
Bill held the bottled courage in his hand. "We are doing trade with the Indians and the Bull Prosecutors to stop the war from happening here. We have been moving the horses and weapons, and they have been supplying me with herbs and remedies for the wagon. It's been a lucrative deal. The southerner was the link between us, and he is the only one that could understand them."
The Indians, the Bull Prosecutors, and the State. What the hell have you dragged me into, Bill?
Bill took a swig of the bottled courage and handed it to me. I took it in my hand, looking down at the death glinting in the bottle. "Can't you just deny this if he sells you out? You're a respectable man, at least to the people here?"
"Respectable?" the men laugh.
"It's illegal to trade with Indians. Also, now with the Bull Prosecutors in the mix, if that Southern boy talks, we are as good as buzzard food. All they have to do is check and they will find some of the same remedies. Sheriff Saul is good at his job," the older man said. "Besides, that's not the only issue."
"He's right," Bill said. "To a lesser extent, we have supplied the Bull Prosecutors as a distraction for the government to deal with."
My instincts told me I should leave here and get away. My eyes shifted. I took a step back, knowing how hated that name was and how swiftly the government had responded to it.
"Now you understand," Bill said, "it leaves me with two options: either I get out of the state or I get rid of the southerner."
"What makes you think he will talk?"
"Death," Bill replied, taking the bottle from me. "The consequence of his action is hanging, and he doesn't owe me anything."
"Any man would talk then to save his neck," the older man seated down by the camp said.
I scratched my head. I still wanted actual, that was for sure. The bar dog needed to be paid. He had been good to me, though grumpy when Karen was gone. He was at least understanding of my situation.
"Are we still going to work today?" I asked, looking at Bill.
"Work?"
"It's highly unlikely anyone knows. If that's the case, we sell all the bottles that you got in the wagon. If trouble is coming, we can hightail it out at least with something in our pocket."
"You're right. We can't leave without getting rid of the last of the stock. It will probably take a while before they can organize him. He still has to go before a judge and the boy is so stupid he might not realize until the end that his sentence might be death. Hopefully, they don't have any evidence."
"Hopefully," the boy countered.
"When has that ever stopped someone from hanging?"
That word hang lingered in my head the longest. The men took down the camp, and we all got on our horses. It had to be a little past mid-day when we finally came back out of the forest. Bill led in the front, and the two other men followed behind. He rode far quicker than we had first started, and looking onto the forest side was a white wolf. For a second, it was looking directly into my eyes.
"Where are we heading?" I asked Bill.
"The nearest town, Ironspring," he replied. "This is Manto." He pointed at the older man. "The kid Braun and this sweetheart is Laura."
I nodded.
"Everyone, this is Ron."
They responded with firm nods.
"Anyway, remember, let's stick to the usual plan."
#
We had barely set up on the outside of the town by a few trees, and I could see many women rushing coming. It looked almost like a riot, except they weren't carrying pitchforks. Women of all classes and ages flocked together. They looked on as Bill placed his bottle of lies on the table.
He held a smile that could persuade the hardest of people. My heart flinched for a moment as he stood himself up on a box and towered down to women who were busy muttering to themselves. The other two had moved away in the distance, listening to Bill. Too many men weren't a good way to sell, Bill had said.
"Ladies!" Bill said, stopping the women from speaking. There was a moment of quiet as all eyes focused on Bill.
With his hands, he directed the narrative. "The war of the land rages across the continent. It's only by the grace of God that we have been spared. Yet many leave to seek glory, leaving you home, alone, afraid that they might not return. How do you stop your men from leaving and looking for forgotten glory?"
"I don't want to lose my man."
"My husband was talking about leaving to fight that damn war."
"I don't want to be a widow."
The women muttered for moments, and Bill watched them, never losing his smile.
"With this bottle, ladies, your men won't clamor for foolish glory. They will focus on you and the family."
Bill produced the bottle, holding it up for all to see. "This bottle will help you keep your man. He won't leave you for war. He won't leave you for another woman."
The women muttered, unsure about what to say.
The woman, Laura from the camp, interjected into the crowd. "It's true. It works since I bought it and kept using it. I can't get my man to leave me alone." The younger boy, Braun from the camp, accompanied her. "I need two more, please. I don't know when I might see you again, and I don't want this to wear off."
"Ron," Bill said, "give two bottles to that woman right there."
As I handed the two bottles over, the woman smiled at me, exchanging their actual. The rest of the women went into a frenzy, trying to out-buy the others for what remained.
"Ladies, ladies, calm down. We haven't even gotten to the main course yet," Bill said. "Does your man have problems getting it up and working? Does he go to bed way earlier than he should? We also have the cure for that with this magic bottle."
The women that bought them left, and others rushed as fast as they could down the town road to us. I chuckled to myself that Bill was really something when he got started. If everything goes well, I might pay off all my debts today, and we both could leave Black Water without issue.