~Chapter 6~
Plainsville Population 51
Morning broke with Molly and Louis lying side by side entangled, inside a deep and tranquil asleep. Chug had awoken early and had already started a crackling fire, brewed some hot coffee in a small metal pan, and had warmed some flour biscuits over the fire. All awoke refreshed, and ready to take on the long day that lay ahead.
"Louis how far do you think we can go today?" ask Chug as he handed a fresh cup of brewed coffee to Louis.
"Well, let's take out that map and compass that Mr. Beamer has given me, and plot our course," said Louis as he slowly warmed up from the coffee, and the morning fire.
The cockcrow sunlight broke through the tall birch, and pine trees, and now shown on Louis's back, and onto the unfolded map in his outstretched hands. All gathered around as Louis together with Chug went over and over the map. Both pointed to their position, where they needed to be, within the next few days, and into the next few months. Louis gazed again at Mr. Beamer's magical compass for a few minutes to make sure that the map was correct.
"There are mostly grassy valleys, shallow streams, and a few small rivers that lay ahead, so we should be able to make good time. At least fifty to seventy miles a day unless Jupiter or Apollo, grow tired. The map and compass appear to be lined up correctly, so I see no problems in our immediate future", said Louis as he folded up the map, closed the cover on the compass, and started to pack his bedroll onto Jupiter's back.
"That sounds good Louis. I am sure glad that Mr. Beamer gave you that map, compass, and went over everything with you. You seem to know so much already. This all seems so easy" said Chug as he now finished packing his bedroll and mounted Apollo.
Molly doused the small fire with water. She then mounted Jupiter as well. Climbing into the saddle, she placed herself in front of Louis.
The way forward seemed full of easy travel, and warm summer days. It was now mid July. The party had planned to reach the Great Lake, by at least the first week of August, if the weather stayed fair and mild. From there they planned to board a merchant ship, or passenger ship, leaving the southern shores towards the far-off, and distant north shore. That would take them directly into the northern most passages of Canada, then into the great wilds of the great Northwest Territories.
The now ever so optimistic travelers, with Jupiter and Apollo keeping a steady pace, traveled easily along the well-worn dirt roads. The three riders had packed light, which made for faster traveling (after all time was of the essence). They had to reach the southern mountain passes, in the arctic, by at least mid December, or they would never make it into Santa's Village in time. The snows might come early, and block the only passage through the mountain range.
Passing over shallow steam beds, circumventing around rocky outcroppings along the roads, over low-lying hillsides, the party pushed forward and ever onward. Night falls, then daybreaks. The time passed quickly.
At night, the campfires were large and comforting for firewood was easy to find. The northern part of Indiana had beautiful rolling hills and valleys. The water was clean and plentiful. All slept at night without the worry of strange wild animals, or dangerous wild beasts having an interest in them. These parts of the country were tame and gentle. All knew that no danger would come to them, as they traveled by day. They kept out of sight at night.
As the late July, days passed away, Louis, Molly, and Chug all thought about the families they left behind. Molly did not have a chance to say goodbye to her mother or explain to her, what plans she had made, to travel north with Chug and Louis. She knew her mom would disagree with her decision, but Molly had to go with her Louis. Molly knew that Louis needed her just as she needed him. There was a strong bond ever growing between Molly and Louis, as each late summer day and night passed. Both could feel it, but neither of them said a word about it. Chug being ever so observant noticed this, and just kept it inside, so as not to upset the newly found chemistry, and well-founded respect for each other.
As young as they were, they all appeared to be mature well beyond their years. Molly had long since taken off the red lip stick that made her seem silly to the neighbor boys last year, and Louis had become a budding vision of the man he would soon become; with determination, and grit, that is readily ever seen in one so young.
Chug in his own right was becoming a well-seasoned traveler, as the long warm days passed by. He understood the task, and never once underestimated his own determination, willpower, or stamina. By all accounts, the group of young travelers had made about four hundred and fifty miles in the first few weeks. Food was plentiful. Small game was easy to catch.
The way forward had been quick and easy.
There were not many travelers found on the road going in either direction, but Louis and Molly, both felt that something or someone had been following them when Molly finally spoke out to Louis about it.
"Louis so far...the way has been easy...and the travel quick, but I have a funny feeling in the back of my mind...that we are being shadowed. Have you sensed it yourself?"
"Molly I can't put my finger on it either, but every time...I look back down the road...I think...I see...shadows in the trees...or a dark figure on the road...but I can't seem to ever make it out. Is it a rider on horseback, a wild animal, a man...or all three?
"Louis I think it's a man on horseback..."
"Molly, I know what you are talking about. I feel like I am being watched all the time as well, and yes it seems to be a man on horseback," said Louis as he now took one of Molly's small hands. He pulled her closer to him, as they rode along the lone trail.
"Molly just don't ever go off by yourself, until we're sure if we are being followed or not."
"I promise Louis, I won't stray off, and I will always be careful. I promise to watch my step, but if something does happen, I know you will be able to protect me Louis. I will always be sure of that," said Molly as she laid her head sideways onto Louis's shoulder.
The travelers now crested a small hill. They started to descend the other side when Louis spotted a small desolate, nearly abandoned town, at the far end of the road.
"I see a town coming into view up ahead in the next valley. Can you see it Jupiter?"
"Yes, I see it Louis. Shall we stop there?" asked Jupiter.
"Yes it's getting to be midday and we need to get out of the summer heat, rest for a while, and then restock our supplies."
Both horses with riders made their way for the small town that was now coming into plain view and not too far off in the distance.
It was a little no-nothing, nondescript town with a simple country store, found in the middle of the town. There were a few outlying buildings surrounding a small horse stable off to one side, and a there was a lone saloon, way down the dirt street towards the far end of town. An old worn sign on the side of the road read:
Welcome to Plainsville
Population 51
Only a few of the town's residents gathered about here or there, or were coming and going, no one noticed the wayward, travelers as they dismounted their horses in front of the country store.
Molly and Chug quickly disappeared inside to buy some supplies (with money that Mr. Beamer had given them before they left). Apollo with Jupiter proceeded to the front of the small horse stables (about two blocks away) to get a drink of water and something to eat. Louis walked directly into the nearby saloon for a tall glass of cold water. And to find out exactly where they were for this town was not found on the map that lay in his saddlebags.
Found inside of the dank, dusty establishment were only a few lone customers, sitting at the low-slung tables playing cards, with their backs to the entrance. They were not paying much attention to anything, or anyone. One single, tall dark, gangly figure dressed in black, was leaning against the tavern's long bar when Louis entered.
The small w
eary boy slowly sauntered over to the bar's counter to ask the, aged and bespectacled barkeep, a few questions. He leaned his walking stick against the bar counter.
"Excuse me sir, can you tell me where we are? I cannot seem to find this town on my map. It says Plainsville on the sign a few hundred yards back, but again this city in not on my map."
Before the bartender could even speak, the tall stranger pulled a barstool over to where Louis was standing. In a deep, slow Saint Louis drawl he spoke, "Sit down son, we need to talk".
Louis immediately became alarmed; he groped for his walking stick, quickly placing it within reach again. Louis surveyed the stranger up and down, but he really could not make out any real facial features, because the tall, dark man held his head in a downward position, which kept his bony, gaunt face well out of sight. The stranger was turned slightly sideways from Louis. His oversized, worn old black cowboy hat was descended, to hide his black, lifeless, and unforgiving eyes.
Louis found the courage to speak again.
"Sorry mister...do I know you?"
"Maybe..."
"What would we need to talk about...anyway?"
"Son, listen right up..."
"I am not even from around here, so I can't possible know you" said Louis as he strained again to get a better look at the strange man who now stepped a few paces closer to Louis, until he was finally standing right before him.
"I don't think you want to know me, because I am pure evil BOY. But I sure know you!" blurted out the foreigner in a very low, chilling voice.
The dark unfamiliar person now tilted his head slightly upwards to show a few weeks growth of black and gray gnarled facial hair, and a large black leather eye-patch covering his left eye.
The stranger's clothes were dirty, and dusty. It looked like he had been on the road for quite a while. His jumbo black boots were covered in trail dust that was the same color as Louis's, which alarmed Louis to know end. Louis measured each clue about the stranger as they one by one, unraveled before him.
Louis paused for a moment then stumbled to get a few more words out.
"You...don't...er...know...ah...me mister?"
"You're the boy with the red cowlick...and the strange blue eyes..."
"You...ah...must have me confused with...ah...ah...someone else, and a different cowlick. Really, I am not even from around this area...er...as...I said before and...you're...ah...pure evil, man what do you mean you're...pure evil?"
Louis stammered, and stuttered, at his words as he tried to speak.
Louis grew even more suspicious with every moment that ticked off the oversized, dirty clock found hanging on a nearby wall. Louis now was positive that danger was at hand. He slowly started to back away from the bar after finally getting a good look at the awkward stranger, square in the face. The man then spoke one more time, as he bent down lower to look Louis directly in his face.
"Sit down son!" yelled, out the dark outsider one last time.
This startled the bartender, and alarmed the three men who were sitting on the other side of the room playing cards.
With his walking stick in one hand, and his heart now pounding wildly in his chess Louis almost fell backwards off his feet with this last proclamation by the stranger. As quick as a cat jumps backwards in fright, the tall, thin man clutched Louis by the scruff of his coat collar, pulling him in closer to his face. He yelled out.
"Your Louis Parks, Hattie May's kid, and you've got something that belongs to me! You know what I want! Now give it to me!"
Louis was frightened out of his wits.
He managed to barely regain his senses long enough to devise a plan of escape. Quick in thought, he immediately grasped his walking stick tighter in his hand. With a swift and accurate gathering of courage, Louis struck downward with one mighty hammer-stoke of his staff, onto the foot of the dark outlander. The blunt but sturdy tip of the walking stick stuck right into the center of the strangers left boot, this sent a sharp pain from the top of his foot, up his leg, directly to the nerve endings in his brain.
The tall skeletal man, dressed all in black, shrieked out in pain. He quickly released his grasped of Louis's coat, at the throat. He stumbled, falling backwards towards the bar rail grimacing in pain, shattering to pieces a nearby old wooden chair, sending it across the saloon room floor into a twenty different pieces. The sounds of the breaking chairs, with the cries of pain from the stranger filled Louis's ears.
"You've been following me and my party, haven't you?" cried out Louis as he broke free from the man. He fell backwards as well, inside of the broken chairs, onto the dirt floor a few yards away from the black-hearted man.
"I want that bell you've got!"
"What...?"
"It's that bell or your life!" yelled out the desperate man.
The stranger finally steadied himself. He now stood up as tall as he could. Lifting his boney chin upwards into the air, he stepped away from the bar so Louis could see the full length of him.
"You're Squint-Eye Pete aren't you?" screamed out Louis.
The stranger snickered insidiously, inside of his madness.
"You've been following me for weeks," again cried out Louis in horror.
Louis was so distraught, and excited. His red cowlick stood straight up on the back of his head, and in doing so, it knocked his bearskin cap right off the top of his violently shaking head.
As Louis tried to flee through the open saloon doors, panic overtook him. His mind began to race with fear. His feet tangled, becoming all twisted, within themselves. He fell again forewords, as his walking stick fell out of the grasp of his hand.
"You're-a right there...little boy. I am Squint-Eye Pete, and I've been following you since you left Centerville...over five weeks back. Now give me that bell or else!"
Squint-Eye began to lift the black leather patch off his left eye.
Louis knew if he caught the gaze of that evil eye, that he would surely be done for.
He quickly gathered himself, rising to his feet. Grabbing a nearby glass of beer off a table, he flung it with meaning into Squint-Eye Pete's eyes. Squint-Eye shrieked out in pain. He quickly began to wipe the beer out of his stinging eyes, with his dirty coat sleeve. All the while Pete was grasping for Louis with his long thin fingers. Squint-Eye's hands were searching, and reaching out in all directions as he moved quickly forwards, towards Louis. Louis ducked, and dodged the long spindly fingers as they flew overhead, just out of reach.
Heard outside was a loud commotion, drawing the attention to all inside. The two front wooden doors of the saloon burst open with a thunderous sound, with wood chips flying out in all directions. The doors were shattered into pieces with one enormous blow.
In flew Jupiter with a mighty leap of his strong and powerful hindquarters. He instinctively spun around backwards, thrusting out a mighty kick at Squint-Eye Pete, which connected dead center, forcefully into Pete's boney chest, which sent Pete flying across to the other side of the bar, into a stack of wooden chairs, tables, and old beer barrels.
"Jump on Louis, were off!" cried out Jupiter in alarm.
Louis quickly grabbed his walking stick, bent down to pick up his bearskin cap, placing it skewed upon his head. He mounted Jupiter after of two quick leaps. He landed awkwardly sideways, with one hand barely grasping his saddle, and the other hand still holding onto his walking stick.
Jupiter rapidly spun back towards the now open doorway. He took another mighty leap forward, bolting straightaway through the front doors, just as quickly as he had burst in.
"That bell belongs to me!" shouted out Squint-Eye as he helplessly watched Jupiter with Louis pass through the entrance of the saloon, and out into the momentary safety of the street.
"Molly, Chug, Apollo, Squint-Eye Pete is after us, run!" shouted out a still terrified Louis as Jupiter scurried down the
street, towards the country store's front porch, where Molly and Chug now stood.
Molly and Chug had just finished packing the last of the supplies onto Apollo when they heard Louis's cries of dread.
"It's Squint-Eye Pete Molly. I knew someone was following us," yelled out Louis as Jupiter came to a screeching halt in front of them, which sent dust exploding out in all directions around the front of the store.
Seeing the shear horror in Louis's and Jupiter's eyes Molly and Chug instantly mounted Apollo with one singular movement that quickly placed them squarely on Apollo's back.
They were away!
Squint-Eye Pete passed through the open saloon doors, and was now running as fast as he could towards the country store. His dirty black hat had blown off his head. His long thin scraggly and soiled black and gray hair was blowing about wildly, outwards in all directions. Nowhere to be seen was his black leather eye-patch, which left his evil eye naked, and exposed to the world. The crazy eye was innately, and immediately, searching for its next victim.
Up and down, left and right the eyeball wildly searched.
A few of the town's folk found nearby who were watching the whole thing unfold before them, shrieked out in fright upon seeing a crazed Pete flying pass them. They ran directly for cover. One older frail man, who was standing in the middle of the street, could not get out the way fast enough. He locked his eyes with Squint-Eye Pete's evil eye. Instantaneously he grew as stiff as a board, becoming deathly still and frozen in place, standing there with absolute terror gripping his heart, and mind.
The old man tumbled backwards straight into a large puddle of dirty water found in the road. He laid there for a few moments, motionless in time with barely a heartbeat as Pete flew completely past him, all the while laughing hysterically at the top of his lungs.
Seeing that his chances of getting the magic bell were fading away from him with each step that Jupiter and Apollo galloped down the road, it just infuriated Squint-Eye even that much more. He shrieked out with a terrifying cry of defeat that echoed out over the treetops, and into the nearby valley; the sound was deafening, piercing everyone's ears within its reach. The sound was like that of a band of vultures screeching out high overhead, fighting over an unlucky, lifeless victim lying below.
Molly almost fell off Apollo's saddle when she heard the fright of his voice in its full deep and horrific tone. Chug grabbed her by her waistband, pulling her back into place as they finally cleared completely out of sight of the town, and out of the immediate danger that was, Squint-Eye Pete, and his awful evil eye ball.
Apollo and Jupiter kept a full sprint away from Plainsville for as long as they could keep up the pace, until finally they both finally tired. They eventually slowed to a more manageable gallop, with their brave hearts still pounding wildly out of their chests.
"Who or what was that Louis?" asked Apollo as he turned his head to look at Louis and Jupiter.
"That's the evil Squint-Eye Pete who broke Black Jack Tilly, Cool Joe Biggs, and Rags Martin out of the St. Louis county jail last year. He was the guy that Black Jack was going to sell Jupiter or me to last year, when he tried to kidnap us," said Louis as he tried to catch his breath, and calm down the best he could.
"We're in deep trouble with him after us," said Chug.
"Yeah, we've got to get as far away from him and that evil eye as we can. He's after the bell I found in Mr. Beamer's barn the night before we left."
"What bell? What are you talking about Louis?" asked Molly, as she looked straight into Louis's eyes.
"I guess I should have told you all sooner, but we left so fast, and we have been so busy on the road the last few weeks that I forgot to bring it up."
Louis now calmed down long enough to explain everything as the two horses finally caught their breath, and resumed forward in a slower gallop.
"You see I found the missing magic jingle bell, the one that fell off of Charlie's neck last year, when he took flight on Christmas Eve, with Santa and Rudolf from Mr. Beamer's barn. You know "the bell" the papers had been writing about. That's why Charlie is getting sick he needs this bell to complete the circle of magic that will make the magic bells work again."
Louis pulled the small gold and silver bell from his front pants pocket, holding it upwards into the afternoon sunshine, for everyone to see.
Both Apollo and Jupiter stopped cold in place on the dirt path, to gaze into the bell's magic and beauty. Chug and Molly were both transfixed as well, by the grandeur, and beauty of it.
Louis admired it again for a moment; he then gave the bell a very slight ring.
A soft, perfect pitch emanated from its core. The note was a perfect high C over E. The sound of the bell, even as soft as it was for such a small bell, was completely enthralling. The sound it made was as if it echoed out from the throat of a baby trumpeting swam singing for its mother, or the call of a lovesick dove calling out to a lost companion, that has been separated by time and space. The sound was of pure magic, and the sweetest of sounds that was seldom if ever heard by human or horse ears.
"What a wonderful resonance and tone Louis, no wonder Pete is after it. How did you find it, and how do you know all about its magical powers Louis?" asked Molly.
"We don't have time for all that now Molly. We can go over everything later when we are sure we are far enough away from Squint-Eye Pete, and out of danger. The Great Lake is now only a few miles away. I can see high overhead in the sky, looking to the north, the Great Lake's water birds circling about. We have to get to the south shore crossing, and aboard a ship to take us across the great waters to the farthest northern shore, and quickly. If we can make the south crossing by nightfall, we can hide out under the cover of night. Then we can board the first ship that leaves in the morning.
Not another word was spoken. Both Apollo and Jupiter started up the pace again. They quickly galloped north towards the lake birds, which could be seen circling, and gliding out over the next tree line, about an hour's ride away.
The tiny, fragile magical jingle bell was placed ever so gently back into Louis pocket: back into its proper hiding place.
For the time being danger had narrowly been averted. The travelers were safe again. Louis was out of harm's way due to Jupiter's courageous heart, and quick thinking. They had passed through unscathed, with their first real brush with danger. None was feeling any better though, knowing now that evil was on their trail, and following them northward.
Their courage had only faltered for a moment, but their resolve had only hardened, as each turned towards each other in their time of need, and their company for strength. Squint-Eye Pete was on their tail, and on the trail with them. He was on a singular mission to claim the magic jingle bell as his own.
The open waters of the Great Lake would be at their feet within the next hour or so, and the next part of their long arduous journey, now lay directly ahead of them with no turning back, all now knowing that Squint-Eye Pete was somewhere behind them.
None in the party knew at this time, but the future that was now theirs, would be fraught with more dread, more danger, and more than a few wild animals. A crossing of enormous dimensions awaited them, with the Great Lake lying directly ahead in their path. Little did they know; the most infamous, and feared man to navigate, and spread terror on the Great Lake, Captain Red Beard the Pirate would be in their immediate future.