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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2045701" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 93 “Fetching the Prospectors", January 10th, 1882:</strong></p><p></p><p>During a portion of the ride out Jake moves his horse along side Nanuet's so the can speak somewhat privately. "So Indian, I've been noticing that Sonoma is responding to your, how can I put this, overtures. It looks like things are well with you two. I'm happy for you. If you were to someday ask her to be your wife would your own people be displeased because she isn't of your tribe?" </p><p></p><p>He replies, "Yes, Sonoma and I are also forming a personal bond. She is a lovely girl and smarter and wiser than her years. She has a fire that burns within her also, very inspiring. My people would not have a problem. I am from a small tribe and as things began to change recently" he pauses, clears his throat then continues "and we were forced to leave our lands we have mingled with other tribes to survive. Mostly the Apache, but others as well. I think they would welcome her warmly." </p><p></p><p>Jake says, "Sonoma certainly is a willful one. There is a fire in that girl, no doubt about it." Nanuet answers, “That she is. I have never spent much time with women, I must admit. My role as a scout and a warrior had me spending many days away, mostly on my own. Her will is strong but it is also straight. She and her family are good people, they work hard and they see the world with open eyes." </p><p></p><p>"I've been meaning to ask you," Jake is looking off the trail aways at an animal moving just at the edge of sight, "If you weren't around should I be worried about your wolf?" He eyes the wolf warily. Nanuet knows bringing the wolf closer to the horses is not the best idea, but he explains to Jake "The wolf is my companion, a linked spirit. She and I have a bond and she is much smarter than the average animal. I figured her company could prove useful to us, she has a keen sense of smell and another pair of eyes doesn't hurt either. Don't worry, she won't harm you. Unless I tell her to of course." Nanuet attempts to wink, but shows that the gesture is uncommon to him with the result being a poor imitation. </p><p></p><p>Jake asks, "What are you going to be doing with yourself? When you are not getting me out of a mess that is." Nanuet chuckles, then speaks slowly, "I am still not sure. Life on a reservation is not one that I am willing to participate in. I know I am not welcome most places I go, but when I spoke with Ms. Katherine today out at Flint's mine she made me think. I should not allow people to judge me without knowing me. I have decided to try and live amongst people, here for now. Kate and myself have also discussed buying up some more land with Flint and trying our hand at ranching. I have worked with horses before and know them well. I think that is the path I will walk. And Sonoma will require a lot of my attention as well and I think she would like to stay near her family." </p><p></p><p>Jake asks, "What was it you and Sonoma were trying to tell me about earlier today at the bank?" Nanuet thinks for a moment, trying to remember what Sonoma had mentioned. "Oh yes, as things were um, winding down, Sonoma had gone back and searched the mens' bodies. She found a new $20 bill on each one of them. She figured that someone must have made a fairly large withdrawal recently and paid those men that morning. We were wondering if you noticed anyone doing that kind of business at your bank." Jake says, "I didn't see one prior to our encounter with those outlaws. I wonder if the banks keep any track of serial numbers...." He doesn't finish the thought out loud.</p><p></p><p>The ride out to the mine turns out to be uneventful, but then again, so was the morning run. Jake is especially careful riding through the section with the winding hills. They arrive at the mine site and get a warm greeting by Humphrey Lewis and Ralph Elliott who ask Jake for the details of the negotiations. Jake shares all the details of the day’s negotiations, and the ride back to town as well. He also explains that Seawell wishes to have a drink with them and explain his side of the story. "All in all gentlemen, I think you are in a better position now." How could they not be, he thinks, with me as a partner. </p><p></p><p>As they get the horses ready for the ride back Jake talks to Chester Martin. "You're not in the army any more. You need to start thinking for yourself and tell others what to do instead of waiting to be told. That is if you want to make something more substantial of yourself beyond a bank guard. Think about it. You're a capable fellow. I'll throw what opportunities I can your way, but you have to be willing to take a risk and stretch yourself." He pats him on the back. "Let's get these miners back to Promise City, eh?"</p><p></p><p>Chester says, "I'll think about it, Mr. Cook. But it isn’t easy. I need structure, I guess. That's one of the reasons I joined the Army. I'm ready to go." Chester strides over to the miners, "OK, gentlemen. It's time to get back to the city. Are you ready? It'll be easier while the sun's still out." The trio that rode out with Nanuet, Jake and Chester stay at the site to guard it. The two that worked at Brown's IceHouse pass their horse on to Lewis and Elliott to ride back. Grant Keebler keeps his horse a the site with him. </p><p></p><p>The five start to ride back just as the sun begins to set over the mountains and hills to the west. Jake adjusts his hat and tries to settle into the saddle, "Alright Chester, you rode this trail earlier and you are the soldier boy so tell us what to do to get back in one piece. Ok?" “Well, I'd have a lot more people to start wit'." Chester laughs. "First one of us, probably me, should ride ahead of the group. That way, I can scout ahead. If I get attacked, the rest of you would have some warning. Other than that, keep your eyes and ears open and your weapons ready." </p><p></p><p>Chester moves ahead of the party about a hundred feet and maintains his position relative to the group. The first two miles go fine over the rocky but fairly open terrain. They then reach the mile with the curvy road around various hills. The sun has now set and it is beginning to get dark. Chester continues to maintain his lead in the front of the group. Chester notes the dying light and shortens his lead to about 50 feet. He also draws his Remington with his left hand. He tells himself, “If I wanted to spring an ambush this is where it would be. Be ready.”</p><p></p><p>The five of them continue to ride slowly and cautiously now that the light is receding. Chester continues to lead them. Jake speaks quietly here and there to the other three in the back, but nothing long or serious. Jake keeps looking around side to side, front and back. He watches Nanuet's face as well, thinking he'll start to notice trouble before I do. They follow the familiar trail, and though Jake imagines many ambushes ride continue to be uneventful.</p><p></p><p>The five men are little less than a mile from town, almost to the point where the stagecoach had reached the mountain base. As they pass the hill that Jake, Ruby and Flint had maneuvered around to get to the main road to town a rifle shot rights out. It came from the right, from the direction of the hill. He then sees a flash as another shot rings out from the hilltop and Ralph Elliott's horse falls to the ground. </p><p></p><p>Jake immediately takes in the surroundings. The hill has small trees and shrubbery over it and whoever fired the shot most likely has some cover on the top. The road trail they are on turns left around 200 feet ahead and if they reach that they will then merge onto the main road to town and probably be out of the line of fire. But in the meanwhile, other than some larger rocks off to the left, that could provide enough cover for a man but not a horse, there is nowhere else to hide.</p><p></p><p>Jake rides over to where Elliott fell and puts his horse between them and the hilltop. He hops off the horse, "Elliot, are you alright?!" Nanuet wheels his horse around and spurs him to where Jake and the down horse and rider are. "No time now, they have higher ground and cover. Let's get him to town. Here, lift him up and put him in front of me on my horse. No time to waste! The rest of you ride! Quickly towards town, GO!" Nanuet unslings his rifle and shoots in the direction of the attacks.</p><p></p><p>Jake quickly complies with Nanuet's commands and does what he can to get Ralph Elliott onto the Indian's horse. The he climbs onto his own, trying to stay low and race towards town. Elliott says that he is okay, just shaken up. He quickly climbs up onto Nanuet's horse. The four men ride on, with Chester firing some shots up behind them. Before the get the 200 feet ahead and behind the bend four more shots fire from the hilltop. Two strike the roadway, one hits Jake's horse but gets imbedded in the saddlebag and barely breaks the skin on the animal itself. The other one strikes Humphrey Lewis in the lower leg but he keeps riding as though nothing had happened.</p><p></p><p>The men make it to the roadway and start to head to town. They get no more than a tenth of a mile when they see a large group of men taking up the road immediately ahead of them. The four humans cannot make out in detail who these people are but can see that they are blocking the roadway. </p><p></p><p>These men have a horse drawn wagon with them that is stopped on the road and pointed in the direction of Promise City. In addition to two men on the wagon Nanuet can make out four mounted riders and three pack mules fastened to the back of the wagon. Two of the mounted riders and one of the men in the wagon are holding rifles and pointing them back in the direction of Nanuet and his friends. Nanuet notes that there are enough fair sized trees on both sides of the roadway to afford some degree of cover if necessary.</p><p></p><p>Chester rides back to the group. "We need to get under cover quickly. I can't tell whether these are more bandits or not. Is anyone good at sneaking around? If anyone is, I'd like to try to get closer to them so we can figure out." He rides to the left behind the trees. He dismounts and gets his Spencer from the saddle holster he bought earlier. The ex-soldier advances as quietly as he can, putting a tree between him and the wagon. Chester calls out, "Who are you? What are you doing on the road?"</p><p></p><p>Two very large and powerful looking rifles swing in Chester's direction, one from a man on horseback the other from a man in the wagon. One of the men on horseback says "What are we doing on the road? It's a public road isn't it? We're on our way to Promise City. We stopped when we heard gunfire. What is going on back there?" Chester lowers his weapon. "We just got ambushed back there and one of us got wounded. I'm lowering my rifle now. Can you do the same?"</p><p></p><p>He replies, "Probably a good idea for you to if you don't want shot. Until we know who you all are and what's going on we'll still keep ours out if it's all the same to you. Maybe you did get ambushed but that doesn't mean we're going to let that happen to us too." "I don't blame you. My name's Chester Martin. I'm staying at the El Parador in town. What can I do so we can all get into town, before whoever is after my people catches up to us?"</p><p></p><p>Nanuet looks to Jake who seems to be unusually silent. He hears Chester speak and lowers his rifle and echoes his new companion. "We are all men who live in town. We mean you no harm. We were ambushed and I have one man without a horse and another man shot who needs to see a doctor. Please let us pass." The voice yells back to Nanuet "Well, first of all you can tell us who you are and why somebody is after you. You say you have wounded? Bring them forward and we can put them in the wagon. All of your group can come forward too but you'd better not have any weapons out when they approach us. And how much further is it to the town?" </p><p></p><p>Chester can now see this group better. All six men seem to have a military bearing about them although there is no evidence that they are currently enlisted. The horses also look to be the type used by U.S. Cavalry units although the saddles are civilian and not military issue. He recalls that cavalry soldiers who receive honorable discharges are given the option of purchasing their own horse from the government. He sees that the wagon is fairly well packed up although a tarp covers most of whatever is inside. Based upon the fact that they have pack mules with them he tentatively concludes that they are ex-soldiers turned prospectors. </p><p></p><p>"This is taking too long. If it goes bad I'll create a distraction." Jake whispers to Nanuet. With that he nonchalantly moves the duster clear of his right holster and walks quickly leading his horse towards the wagon and the men. "OK, I'm coming out." He shows his right hand out to be empty as me moves quickly towards them. "Town is less than a mile away." He tells the men as he approaches. "Me and my friends are mine owners and coming back into town. There are shooters on the hill just out of sight." Jake keeps moving and watches the guns in front of him warily.</p><p></p><p>The leader of these men says "You say you have wounded? We can carry them in our wagon. Get your group up here, there's safety in numbers and if anyone takes a shot at my group they'll come to regret it." "I am coming forward as well." Nanuet booms as he slings he rifle over his shoulder, holding one hand high as he uses the other to guide the reigns, trying to keep both hands in sight. </p><p></p><p>"I have a second rider on my horse with me as well, his horse was shot and went down." Nanuet then turns to the other riders, "Mr. Humphrey, if you can continue to ride you should listen to them and get to their wagon." As Nanuet gets behind Jake he says in a quite, low voice "These men are or were soldiers, I am not sure they will take kindly to me." "Don't worry, I'll stand by ya." Jake says quietly back. "Just don't offer to marry one o' their daughters." He snickers. Nanuet smiles in response to Jake's chuckle, but says to no one in particular "I never understand white man's humor."</p><p></p><p>As Nanuet gets closer one of the men on horseback says "Captain, it's an Indian!" One of the other men says "Calm down Burritt, I can see. He's with the others, probably their guide." Nanuet raises his arms higher. "I am an Indian, but I have no weapons in hand and don't wish to cause any trouble. I am indeed a ranger and guide of these parts." Another man speaks up, apparently the leader of the group, and says "Put you man in the wagon and let's move on."</p><p></p><p>Nanuet does what he can to comply with the man's orders, all the while trying not to turn his back to any of these men. He helps Humphrey Lewis into the wagon and waits for any further instructions. "He's in, we're ready to move."</p><p></p><p>Chester slings his rifle onto his back. He grimaces. More ex-soldiers. I hope they haven't talked to Gamble recently. "I'm coming out as well." He goes back to the miners and tells them what's going on. Then Chester gets his horse and leads it out into the open. "The others are behind me." If they let him, he walks up to the man in charge. "Captain, it's nice to meet you. Chester Martin, at your service."</p><p></p><p>The one who had been addressed as captain orders two of the men to fall further back and guard their rear. Jake, Nanuet and Chester note that the driver and two rear guards appear to be in their twenties while the other three men looks to be in their forties. Chester rides over to Jake. "Mr. Cook, these gentlemen look like they've left the Army recently. They may even be prospectors."</p><p></p><p>Chester also notices that the three younger men and the once called Captain are carrying the current U.S. Army issued firearms while the leader of the group and the other older man have a combination of non-regulation civilian firearms and some older model military weapons. The Captain replies "Pleased to meet you Mr. Martin, names Andrew Mizner. I'll handle the rest of the introductions once we know we're safe." </p><p>They proceed on towards town with minimal conversation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 2045701, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 93 “Fetching the Prospectors", January 10th, 1882:[/B] During a portion of the ride out Jake moves his horse along side Nanuet's so the can speak somewhat privately. "So Indian, I've been noticing that Sonoma is responding to your, how can I put this, overtures. It looks like things are well with you two. I'm happy for you. If you were to someday ask her to be your wife would your own people be displeased because she isn't of your tribe?" He replies, "Yes, Sonoma and I are also forming a personal bond. She is a lovely girl and smarter and wiser than her years. She has a fire that burns within her also, very inspiring. My people would not have a problem. I am from a small tribe and as things began to change recently" he pauses, clears his throat then continues "and we were forced to leave our lands we have mingled with other tribes to survive. Mostly the Apache, but others as well. I think they would welcome her warmly." Jake says, "Sonoma certainly is a willful one. There is a fire in that girl, no doubt about it." Nanuet answers, “That she is. I have never spent much time with women, I must admit. My role as a scout and a warrior had me spending many days away, mostly on my own. Her will is strong but it is also straight. She and her family are good people, they work hard and they see the world with open eyes." "I've been meaning to ask you," Jake is looking off the trail aways at an animal moving just at the edge of sight, "If you weren't around should I be worried about your wolf?" He eyes the wolf warily. Nanuet knows bringing the wolf closer to the horses is not the best idea, but he explains to Jake "The wolf is my companion, a linked spirit. She and I have a bond and she is much smarter than the average animal. I figured her company could prove useful to us, she has a keen sense of smell and another pair of eyes doesn't hurt either. Don't worry, she won't harm you. Unless I tell her to of course." Nanuet attempts to wink, but shows that the gesture is uncommon to him with the result being a poor imitation. Jake asks, "What are you going to be doing with yourself? When you are not getting me out of a mess that is." Nanuet chuckles, then speaks slowly, "I am still not sure. Life on a reservation is not one that I am willing to participate in. I know I am not welcome most places I go, but when I spoke with Ms. Katherine today out at Flint's mine she made me think. I should not allow people to judge me without knowing me. I have decided to try and live amongst people, here for now. Kate and myself have also discussed buying up some more land with Flint and trying our hand at ranching. I have worked with horses before and know them well. I think that is the path I will walk. And Sonoma will require a lot of my attention as well and I think she would like to stay near her family." Jake asks, "What was it you and Sonoma were trying to tell me about earlier today at the bank?" Nanuet thinks for a moment, trying to remember what Sonoma had mentioned. "Oh yes, as things were um, winding down, Sonoma had gone back and searched the mens' bodies. She found a new $20 bill on each one of them. She figured that someone must have made a fairly large withdrawal recently and paid those men that morning. We were wondering if you noticed anyone doing that kind of business at your bank." Jake says, "I didn't see one prior to our encounter with those outlaws. I wonder if the banks keep any track of serial numbers...." He doesn't finish the thought out loud. The ride out to the mine turns out to be uneventful, but then again, so was the morning run. Jake is especially careful riding through the section with the winding hills. They arrive at the mine site and get a warm greeting by Humphrey Lewis and Ralph Elliott who ask Jake for the details of the negotiations. Jake shares all the details of the day’s negotiations, and the ride back to town as well. He also explains that Seawell wishes to have a drink with them and explain his side of the story. "All in all gentlemen, I think you are in a better position now." How could they not be, he thinks, with me as a partner. As they get the horses ready for the ride back Jake talks to Chester Martin. "You're not in the army any more. You need to start thinking for yourself and tell others what to do instead of waiting to be told. That is if you want to make something more substantial of yourself beyond a bank guard. Think about it. You're a capable fellow. I'll throw what opportunities I can your way, but you have to be willing to take a risk and stretch yourself." He pats him on the back. "Let's get these miners back to Promise City, eh?" Chester says, "I'll think about it, Mr. Cook. But it isn’t easy. I need structure, I guess. That's one of the reasons I joined the Army. I'm ready to go." Chester strides over to the miners, "OK, gentlemen. It's time to get back to the city. Are you ready? It'll be easier while the sun's still out." The trio that rode out with Nanuet, Jake and Chester stay at the site to guard it. The two that worked at Brown's IceHouse pass their horse on to Lewis and Elliott to ride back. Grant Keebler keeps his horse a the site with him. The five start to ride back just as the sun begins to set over the mountains and hills to the west. Jake adjusts his hat and tries to settle into the saddle, "Alright Chester, you rode this trail earlier and you are the soldier boy so tell us what to do to get back in one piece. Ok?" “Well, I'd have a lot more people to start wit'." Chester laughs. "First one of us, probably me, should ride ahead of the group. That way, I can scout ahead. If I get attacked, the rest of you would have some warning. Other than that, keep your eyes and ears open and your weapons ready." Chester moves ahead of the party about a hundred feet and maintains his position relative to the group. The first two miles go fine over the rocky but fairly open terrain. They then reach the mile with the curvy road around various hills. The sun has now set and it is beginning to get dark. Chester continues to maintain his lead in the front of the group. Chester notes the dying light and shortens his lead to about 50 feet. He also draws his Remington with his left hand. He tells himself, “If I wanted to spring an ambush this is where it would be. Be ready.” The five of them continue to ride slowly and cautiously now that the light is receding. Chester continues to lead them. Jake speaks quietly here and there to the other three in the back, but nothing long or serious. Jake keeps looking around side to side, front and back. He watches Nanuet's face as well, thinking he'll start to notice trouble before I do. They follow the familiar trail, and though Jake imagines many ambushes ride continue to be uneventful. The five men are little less than a mile from town, almost to the point where the stagecoach had reached the mountain base. As they pass the hill that Jake, Ruby and Flint had maneuvered around to get to the main road to town a rifle shot rights out. It came from the right, from the direction of the hill. He then sees a flash as another shot rings out from the hilltop and Ralph Elliott's horse falls to the ground. Jake immediately takes in the surroundings. The hill has small trees and shrubbery over it and whoever fired the shot most likely has some cover on the top. The road trail they are on turns left around 200 feet ahead and if they reach that they will then merge onto the main road to town and probably be out of the line of fire. But in the meanwhile, other than some larger rocks off to the left, that could provide enough cover for a man but not a horse, there is nowhere else to hide. Jake rides over to where Elliott fell and puts his horse between them and the hilltop. He hops off the horse, "Elliot, are you alright?!" Nanuet wheels his horse around and spurs him to where Jake and the down horse and rider are. "No time now, they have higher ground and cover. Let's get him to town. Here, lift him up and put him in front of me on my horse. No time to waste! The rest of you ride! Quickly towards town, GO!" Nanuet unslings his rifle and shoots in the direction of the attacks. Jake quickly complies with Nanuet's commands and does what he can to get Ralph Elliott onto the Indian's horse. The he climbs onto his own, trying to stay low and race towards town. Elliott says that he is okay, just shaken up. He quickly climbs up onto Nanuet's horse. The four men ride on, with Chester firing some shots up behind them. Before the get the 200 feet ahead and behind the bend four more shots fire from the hilltop. Two strike the roadway, one hits Jake's horse but gets imbedded in the saddlebag and barely breaks the skin on the animal itself. The other one strikes Humphrey Lewis in the lower leg but he keeps riding as though nothing had happened. The men make it to the roadway and start to head to town. They get no more than a tenth of a mile when they see a large group of men taking up the road immediately ahead of them. The four humans cannot make out in detail who these people are but can see that they are blocking the roadway. These men have a horse drawn wagon with them that is stopped on the road and pointed in the direction of Promise City. In addition to two men on the wagon Nanuet can make out four mounted riders and three pack mules fastened to the back of the wagon. Two of the mounted riders and one of the men in the wagon are holding rifles and pointing them back in the direction of Nanuet and his friends. Nanuet notes that there are enough fair sized trees on both sides of the roadway to afford some degree of cover if necessary. Chester rides back to the group. "We need to get under cover quickly. I can't tell whether these are more bandits or not. Is anyone good at sneaking around? If anyone is, I'd like to try to get closer to them so we can figure out." He rides to the left behind the trees. He dismounts and gets his Spencer from the saddle holster he bought earlier. The ex-soldier advances as quietly as he can, putting a tree between him and the wagon. Chester calls out, "Who are you? What are you doing on the road?" Two very large and powerful looking rifles swing in Chester's direction, one from a man on horseback the other from a man in the wagon. One of the men on horseback says "What are we doing on the road? It's a public road isn't it? We're on our way to Promise City. We stopped when we heard gunfire. What is going on back there?" Chester lowers his weapon. "We just got ambushed back there and one of us got wounded. I'm lowering my rifle now. Can you do the same?" He replies, "Probably a good idea for you to if you don't want shot. Until we know who you all are and what's going on we'll still keep ours out if it's all the same to you. Maybe you did get ambushed but that doesn't mean we're going to let that happen to us too." "I don't blame you. My name's Chester Martin. I'm staying at the El Parador in town. What can I do so we can all get into town, before whoever is after my people catches up to us?" Nanuet looks to Jake who seems to be unusually silent. He hears Chester speak and lowers his rifle and echoes his new companion. "We are all men who live in town. We mean you no harm. We were ambushed and I have one man without a horse and another man shot who needs to see a doctor. Please let us pass." The voice yells back to Nanuet "Well, first of all you can tell us who you are and why somebody is after you. You say you have wounded? Bring them forward and we can put them in the wagon. All of your group can come forward too but you'd better not have any weapons out when they approach us. And how much further is it to the town?" Chester can now see this group better. All six men seem to have a military bearing about them although there is no evidence that they are currently enlisted. The horses also look to be the type used by U.S. Cavalry units although the saddles are civilian and not military issue. He recalls that cavalry soldiers who receive honorable discharges are given the option of purchasing their own horse from the government. He sees that the wagon is fairly well packed up although a tarp covers most of whatever is inside. Based upon the fact that they have pack mules with them he tentatively concludes that they are ex-soldiers turned prospectors. "This is taking too long. If it goes bad I'll create a distraction." Jake whispers to Nanuet. With that he nonchalantly moves the duster clear of his right holster and walks quickly leading his horse towards the wagon and the men. "OK, I'm coming out." He shows his right hand out to be empty as me moves quickly towards them. "Town is less than a mile away." He tells the men as he approaches. "Me and my friends are mine owners and coming back into town. There are shooters on the hill just out of sight." Jake keeps moving and watches the guns in front of him warily. The leader of these men says "You say you have wounded? We can carry them in our wagon. Get your group up here, there's safety in numbers and if anyone takes a shot at my group they'll come to regret it." "I am coming forward as well." Nanuet booms as he slings he rifle over his shoulder, holding one hand high as he uses the other to guide the reigns, trying to keep both hands in sight. "I have a second rider on my horse with me as well, his horse was shot and went down." Nanuet then turns to the other riders, "Mr. Humphrey, if you can continue to ride you should listen to them and get to their wagon." As Nanuet gets behind Jake he says in a quite, low voice "These men are or were soldiers, I am not sure they will take kindly to me." "Don't worry, I'll stand by ya." Jake says quietly back. "Just don't offer to marry one o' their daughters." He snickers. Nanuet smiles in response to Jake's chuckle, but says to no one in particular "I never understand white man's humor." As Nanuet gets closer one of the men on horseback says "Captain, it's an Indian!" One of the other men says "Calm down Burritt, I can see. He's with the others, probably their guide." Nanuet raises his arms higher. "I am an Indian, but I have no weapons in hand and don't wish to cause any trouble. I am indeed a ranger and guide of these parts." Another man speaks up, apparently the leader of the group, and says "Put you man in the wagon and let's move on." Nanuet does what he can to comply with the man's orders, all the while trying not to turn his back to any of these men. He helps Humphrey Lewis into the wagon and waits for any further instructions. "He's in, we're ready to move." Chester slings his rifle onto his back. He grimaces. More ex-soldiers. I hope they haven't talked to Gamble recently. "I'm coming out as well." He goes back to the miners and tells them what's going on. Then Chester gets his horse and leads it out into the open. "The others are behind me." If they let him, he walks up to the man in charge. "Captain, it's nice to meet you. Chester Martin, at your service." The one who had been addressed as captain orders two of the men to fall further back and guard their rear. Jake, Nanuet and Chester note that the driver and two rear guards appear to be in their twenties while the other three men looks to be in their forties. Chester rides over to Jake. "Mr. Cook, these gentlemen look like they've left the Army recently. They may even be prospectors." Chester also notices that the three younger men and the once called Captain are carrying the current U.S. Army issued firearms while the leader of the group and the other older man have a combination of non-regulation civilian firearms and some older model military weapons. The Captain replies "Pleased to meet you Mr. Martin, names Andrew Mizner. I'll handle the rest of the introductions once we know we're safe." They proceed on towards town with minimal conversation. [/QUOTE]
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