The Last Patrol

[Scarlet Angel]

Bo grinned, it was the mischievous grin he got when he knew he'd done something  in a way he probably shouldn't have but just couldn't help himself.

"I inquired about what kind of medieval medic he had. After all." Bo tried to be innocent again." I had not seen the use of maggots before. I also complimented the medic on how well he feed them off Army rations and the quantity in the bowl.

Then I proceeded to ask our good C.O. if he'd ever been wounded and had to be treated, at which point I had his attention. I told him I would rather be treated right where I'd fallen or given a bullet instead of being brought back here. And I tossed in some comment about who and who not the medic wanted to treat.

I thought about saying something about the rock gut whisky the man had but the C.O. had had just about enough. From what you say I bet the C.O. will be going to the infirmary to check up on it more often. He also said that's not their regular man."   

[Elegant Ella]

Ella laughed at Bo's words to the C.O.  "Unless the regular man has been gone for months, his standards might not be much better," commented Ella.  "Coming back to a C.O. inspecting on a regular basis will be good for him." 

[Elegant Ella]

Boston

Dr. Alan Coatsworth was seated at the desk writing out tomorrow's lecture when Dr. Samuel Abramson brought in the mail. 

"Ella must have received your letter," Samuel said, holding out an envelope. "She addressed it to you directly, not in care of me like the last ones.  It feels thinner, too.  She must not have included the latest chapter of her fantasy."

"Fantasy?" asked Alan, taking the envelope, and turning it over in his hands. 

"Yes, fantasy.  The idea that she could have been hired as a deputy marshal is ridiculous. The only thing more preposterous than her encountering a U.S. Marshal who wanted to hire female deputies, is the idea that she encountered two men with such odd ideas of Woman's proper role in life.  How would a Boston housewife have any suitable skills for deputy marshal work anyway?" 

"You didn't really get to know her until our wedding," responded Alan.  "Ella showed many  talents during the War that a Boston housewife wouldn't use or need."   

"Well, open the letter and find out when she is coming back," ordered Samuel.  "I'm looking forward to seeing her again.  I really miss her cooking.  I never did find a cook or housekeeper who suited me since the two of you left.  I wish she could have stayed here while you were gone."

"She is not coming," reported Alan.  "She says she has responsibilities there that she cannot leave."

"Not coming!" exclaimed Samuel.  "I wrote you that letting her run free was a mistake.  You should have authorized me to send the Pinkertons after her when she settled in El Paso, to either bring her back or take her on to her parents' house in California.  Now you're going to have to rein her in sharply, or you'll never have control of her again.  Threatening to divorce her on grounds of desertion should get her attention.  Detectives could probably find other grounds for divorce if needed.  After all, she's been paying her own way for 2 1/2 years."

Alan stood up abruptly, pushing the letter into his pocket.  "I'm going to talk to the Rabbi.  Don't wait supper for me." 

[Tensleep]

"I talked to the scouts in our group about Carrie Moore. She was 'rescued' from a renegade Cheyenne band
that was back and forth with the main tribe. No word of her havin' been seen in these parts so far, but if she is here, she would be layin' low."

Tensleep pushed back from the table. "This is the worst Army mess I have ever been in, this food is nasty. No wonder the men desert from this post in a steady stream."

[Scarlet Angel]

Scarlet chuckled at Tensleep's comment. "It might be a good idea to ride out for the day and see what we can see." Scarlet said getting up herself. "Who wants to come with me?"

[Tensleep]

"Derned if I ain't ready. Take that buffler gun o' your's Scarlet, let's find some meat."
Tensleep was standing as he said it.

[Scarlet Angel]

Bo pulled Ella's chair out for her. "You up for coming with us or you going to stay here for the day?" He asked.

Scarlet stepped close to Tensleep and spoke softly. "I get a similar feeling in these walls as I do behind bars. You were in the Army is that a feeling the soldiers get too?"

[Tensleep]

He whispered back, "No, not at a good post. This post is a dump, no fresh food, no close town, no women anywhere near. It is like jail. Let's get out of here."

[Scarlet Angel]

"Women close by?" Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "She'd never kill ya for lookin' but that woman o yers has one hot temper. She says she's understanding but I bet when it comes right down to it she wouldn't be." Scarlet teased.

[Tensleep]

Tensleep laughed. "I ain't lookin' darlin' 'tween you, 'Becca an' Ella, not countin' Rose an' Patches, I'm woman poor...
It's the enlisted men mostly, they want to talk to and look at a woman ever' once in a while."

[Scarlet Angel]

"I imagine swimmin' the river doesn't hold alot of appeal. They would really want some female company to do that." Scarlet looked around as they walked towards the stables. "I bet they pay twice the price happily after swimmin' the river too than they do at the Ace."

[Tensleep]

"I reckon that they would, mighty rough havin' to swim that river." Tensleep winked. "Might be a business to get into."

[Scarlet Angel]

"I don't think Becca would give up the Ace to come here to open a business. One the girls that works for her come from that place across the river. She says she'd never come back."

[Tensleep]

"I figger 'Becca best stay just where she is an' Scarlet best stay close too." Tensleep put his arm around Scarlet's shoulder. "You two make a good team, gangin' up on your husbands."

[Scarlet Angel]

Scarlet grinned. "Why Tensleep we wouldn't do such a thing." She said sweetly batting her eyelashes at him.

[Elegant Ella]

"I had thought to talk to the cook, but if you are all going, I'll go with you," replied Ella.  "Maybe I can find some wild onions or catch fish in the river."  She pulled a little box out of her pocket and opened it to check on the fishhooks and line stored in it.

[Elegant Ella]

Boston

Mrs. Kaplan showed Alan into her husband's study.  Rabbi Issac Kaplan greeted him, "Welcome, Alan.  Would you like tea?"

The two men exchanged small talk until Rachel brought in a tray, and poured cups for both of them.

Then she left, closing the door behind her. 

"I am troubled about my marriage and my wife Ella," said Alan.  "She ran away from her uncle's house while I was in Vienna.  I have asked her to return to Boston, and she refuses.  I can't remember any other time when she has refused a request.  She always had the sweetest temper.  Except when I wanted to sell her horse.  After my parents died, we moved from my father's house to Dr. Abramson's house where there was no stable.  I had needed a horse and carriage to come into town to work with Dr. Abramson, and would not need one anymore.  We were trying to save money so that I could study in Vienna.  She proposed that she would keep her horse only if she could find stabling without cost.  She arranged to stable her horse at the riding academy in exchange for providing veterinary care for all of the horses there.  Dr. Abramson advised me at the time that I should not allow her to keep her horse, that I needed to keep her dependent.  I guess he was right.  She could not have run away as easily without her horse." 

"Did Mrs. Coatsworth give you any explanation for leaving her uncle's house?" asked Rabbi Issac.

"She said that her uncle expected her to replace their hired servant without pay.  She said that keeping house for Dr. Abramson had been acceptable only because she was taking care of her husband by doing so," replied Alan.  "Hmm, maybe that was why she insisted that the impropriety of a married woman living without her husband in a single man's house made it impossible to consider staying in his house while I was gone.  Dr. Abramson did treat her like a servant.  Although she never spoke a word of complaint, not even when he brought six guests home to dinner with no advance notice.  As I remember, she gave them a good dinner, and served pea soup for the rest of the week.  When Dr. Abramson complained at the third pea soup dinner, she pointed out that his guests had eaten all of the food she had purchased for the week, and he had not given her any extra money to replenish the supplies.  He was careful to provide extra money and advance notice before having dinner parties after that." 

"Did she give any reason for refusing to return to Boston?"

"She said that she had taken on responsibilities, based on my agreement to go to El Paso when I returned to the United States, that she was not willing to abandon."

"Had you agreed to go to El Paso?" 

"Yes," admitted Alan reluctantly.  "I was afraid that she would turn her back on me if I were too stubborn in my answers to her letters.  She did make settling in El Paso sound inviting.  But when I got back, Dr. Abramson had gone to a great deal of effort to set up this lecturer position for me at the medical school, and I didn't want to offend him by turning it down.  I owe him a great deal because he helped me get my career started.  Dr. Abramson advised me to threaten her with divorce if she won't return, and implied that I might want to divorce her because of her behavior while she's been out west."

"Do you have any reason to suspect her of infidelity?"

"Nothing in her letters ever gave any suggestion of attachment to any other man, but how could a woman pay her own way without help?"

"Did she write often?"

"She wrote a letter every week, usually a very thick letter, with one page devoted to personal matters and the rest being accounts of the activities of the 'posse' she was with.  Ella never said much about what she herself did for the posse, other than cooking and patching up wounded.  Dr. Abramson thinks those accounts are fictional."   

"I happen to have some information from El Paso," said Rabbi Issac, pulling a folder out of a desk drawer.  "Mrs. Coatsworth named me as a character reference when she joined the congregation there, and Rabbi Jacob Cohen wrote to ask.  We have exchanged several letters since then.  He thinks very highly of her, and credits her with saving his wife when she delivered twin sons last year. Local opinions about the people she stays with are mixed.  Members of the Longknife family do not try to ingratiate themselves with anyone.  Marshall Ross is mostly liked and respected, except by people who disapproved of him marrying a saloon owner."

[Tensleep]

"Those eyes batting at me might have made me wonder about you at one time Scarlet, but I've seen that routine make Johnny Longkife melt. And my dear, 'Becca warned me that your batting, fluttering eyes hide a mind that is working overtime."

The Marshal squeezed Scarlet and grinned.

[Scarlet Angel]

Scarlet snorted at the comment. "Well Sir, your wife she does not lie, but I know someone who is much better at it than I am and I have seen her husband melt a time or two. I've heard it said a real friend knows enough about you and your history they could blackmail you. Becca and I could blackmail one another a thousand times over. I know things about you that quite frankly make me blush Sugar Pants." Scarlet giggled and gave him a squeeze back.

[Tensleep]

Tensleep looked at her and rolled his eyes. "I've heard that same thing and your best friend has told me a few things about you that almost make me blush too, but then I see you and just know that she still hasn't told me everything."