SLOWLY BORN
“A single event can awaken within us a stranger
totally unknown to us.
To live is to be slowly born.”
-
I saw him before he saw me. Didn’t think much of him cept maybe he was mite handsome. I know now he was older than the 15 years I guessed. He was clear up to 17! But he was slender and the coat too big and well with those blue eyes and fair hair it was just natural I thought him younger.
I have the same problem. At 11 years I looked closer to 8. Never did grow much past five feet when I did get older and it can be plum annoying people always calling you little or kid.
But at the time I just knew we was hunting the same thing and I couldn’t let him have it. That rabbit was mine, fair and square and I’d spent all day trying to catch it. My failing meant my family went hungry and I couldn’t go back empty handed, I’d done that too many times before.
Problem was the handgun was heavy and the rifle too long and well to be honest I was cold and hungry myself. My Pa had died before teaching me much about shooting and everything I knew I had learned on my own.
Suddenly the rabbit leapt and desperately I pulled the gun up to fire, but I didn’t even get chance to cock the trigger. The boy’s gun was in his hand and the rabbit down before I could take in a second breath. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen and if I hadn’t been so hungry and heartbroken at losing the kill I would have applauded.
Instead I think I let out a little sob cause he turned and whirled the gun on me and then realizing I was just a girl he lowered his gun and cautiously walked over.
“Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said with that smile.
Lord that smile could almost fill an empty belly.
“That was my rabbit,” I said bitterly wiping the tears from my face with the back of my hand.
He looked down at the plump rabbit and suddenly I realized he was as hungry as I was.
“Where’s your family?” he asked.
“My Ma and others back at the cabin.”
‘Where’s your Pa?”
“Gone died when I was six. I look after things.”
He stared at me and there was a softness come into his eyes that in another man I would have pushed away as pity, but on him, on him it was understanding.
“Can’t eat it all alone, be willing to share if your Ma don’t mind,” he said.
“I can’t take a stranger back my Ma would skin me alive,” I said forlornly tempted by the offer. He seemed nice. But nice didn’t happen a lot in my world.
He nodded understanding and picking up the rabbit handed it to me.
“But its your rabbit,” I said in awe.
“But the lady saw it first,” he said tipping his hat and turned and walked away.
I looked down at my long dark braids, freckles and faded thin dress and back up at him. Ain’t nobody had ever called me a lady till that moment, heck no one had even considered the possibility.
I fell in love with Jedediah Curry right there on the spot.
*******************************
Game was sparse in those parts and I made camp and a fire feeling colder and lonelier than I had since I had left Heyes.
I really hadn’t given the little girl a second thought, but I knew no matter how hungry I was I couldn’t send a little thing with those sad eyes home without dinner. So I made my last pot of coffee and found a piece of jerky to chew and tried to forget how cold and miserable I was.
Heyes and I had split up 4 months past and it was wearing thin being on my own. I missed him and all the reasons I had come up for leaving him, his bossing me and our fighting now didn’t seem all that terrible.
I heard the twig crack and whirled gun in my hand. Being on my own had given me lots of time to practice and I knew I was now faster than most men would ever be.
“It’s me mister, I brought you some supper.”
I stared as the little girl stepped into the firelight wide eyed at my gun pointing at her. Cautious I made sure she was alone and then stared down at her.
“What are you doing out here alone? Your Ma know your out?”
“No,” she said looking at her feet and then with a smile that made me grin back held up a frayed napkin. “Thought you’d be hungry.”
Shaking my head I bid her sit and gratefully took the food.
“What’s your name?”
“Phoebe Mosely, what’s yours?”
“Jedediah Curry.”
“That’s a fine name.”
She smiled again and I realized she had taken her braids out and brushed her hair out.
“How old are you Phoebe?”
“14.”
I laughed and she scowled.
“How old?” I said firmly.
“11, be 12 in August. How old are you?”
“17 next month.”
She looked crestfallen and I had no idea why. “That old?”
I laughed feeling ancient. The food and her company had done great things to my mood and I was feeling better all ready.
“So you do the hunting for your family?”
“I be trying, but well nobody ever showed me proper. I wish I could shoot like you, I bet you can hit anything.”
“Well maybe not anything, but usually what I aim at.”
“Your fast too, ain’t never seen a man draw like that,” she said it with such awe I felt a bit uncomfortable.
“Just practice.”
“Could you teach me?”
I blinked, “Phoebe I’m just passing through.”
“Oh please we gonna starve lessin I learn to hit something or they’ll send me back to the orphanage. My mama is studying to be a nurse, but there be 7 of us mister and we gotta eat till she finds another husband or work.”
These were the times when I missed Heyes most. He would point out to me how foolish getting involved in others troubles was when you had enough of our own. Course I’d lost count of the number of times he didn’t listen to his own advise on that matter, but it was still comforting to have it explained to you.
But the orphanage part had sealed it for me. The Home for Waywards was still too fresh in my mind. I understood her terror at the thought of having to return.
I looked at her, “Well I’m gonna see a man about a cattle drive tomorrow. I’m hoping it will take me west to where my cousin might be. If I get the job then I’ll be around for a spell, I suppose I could give you some pointers.”
To my surprise she flung her arms around me and the hug warmed me more than the food. I felt needed and wanted and less alone and I found myself hoping I could help that strange little girl.
***************************
Jed got the job and was as good as his word. Even after a hard day rounding up calves and branding he would meet me down by the crik and we’d spend a couple of hours shooting and hunting.
Never met a more patient man or kinder cause there was nothing in it for him. I was a little girl in his eyes and could offer him nothing for his troubles, but still he came and encouraged until I began to not only start hitting what I aimed at, I started getting good.
You might think I worked so hard at it cause I cared about my family, but if the truth be told I wanted to impress him. I didn’t have much in the ways of feminine wiles at that point and I figured if I could at least shoot good he’d like me.
“Phoebe I think ma’am you are getting better than me!” he smiled one afternoon a month later. It was a Saturday and we had spent the whole day working on my shooting and I was in heaven. Not cause I was learning so fast, but because I was with him.
“My Ma can’t believe the game I’m bringing home and we were able to sell some of the skins for supplies and well Ma don’t cry so much now Jed, I can’t thank you enough for all this. Why this keeps up I’ll even get me a new dress Ma says!”
“Nothing to thank me for Phoebe, I had a sister and I miss her, you kinda took some of the edge off that.”
“Just you and your cousin now?”
“Yea.”
“What’s he like?”
He smiled and got this far away look in his eyes. “Heyes? Phoebe, Heyes is like God went and whipped Him up a tornado one day and spun it into a man. He’s ornery and opinionated and has a way of getting a body into trouble before he’s even woke up in the morning.”
“You miss him huh?”
He looked down so I wouldn’t see how sad his eyes were, “Yea, I reckon I do.”
“Then why don’t you go tell him that.”
“Ain’t easy for a man saying he needs someone.”
“But he’s family, besides your partners. Partners ain’t never suppose to split up.”
“Maybe, but what if he don’t want me back? He looked after me a long time Phoebe. I think maybe he got tired of that.”
I looked at him trying to understand why anyone would have to look after the bravest man I had ever met.
“He misses you,” I said confidently.
He looked up and smiled, “And how do you know that?”
“Cause I miss you all ready and you aren’t gone yet.”
He left two days later with the cattle drive. Came to the cabin to say good bye and I just cried like a darn fool as he slipped some money in my hand and told me to get that new dress on him and not break too many hearts.
I never told him how he broke mine.
*************************
1875
“Rembacker you brag better than you play poker,” the tall, dark haired man laughed as he leaned back amused from the poker table.
“Just telling you my partner is the best,” Hannibal Heyes smiled eyes twinkling as he took a sip of whiskey most of the games money in front of him.
“Maybe we need to find out who’s lying,” Buck Lymon, the hotel owner and third man at the table said interested.
“Fine by me, I’ll give a hundred dollars to anyone who can outshoot me, but I’m warning you Frank Butler is the best.”
“Now this sounds like a sporting proposition,” Lymon smiled. “Joey!” he yelled over to a small boy stacking boxes. “Run over to the café and Edge’s saloon and tell them we got us contest, $100 to anyone who can outshoot Mr. Butler here. Say in an hour?”
“Yes sir!” the boy said eagerly catching the coin he was tossed and taking off at a run.
“You think your partner will dare to try Mr. Rembacker?” Butler grinned lighting a cigar confidently.
Heyes smiled, “I think you better hope he doesn’t Mr. Butler.
**********************************
“Jedediah?”
I turned warily, casually unhooking my gun as I did. Not many people called me by my given name anymore and with a $5000 bounty on my head I didn’t take chances.
I had been heading for the saloon to join Heyes having finished seeing to the supplies we needed and paying off the gang from a job we had just completed.
But as I turned round and stared at the pretty young woman behind me I frowned confused.
“Ma’am do I?”
“Jed! It’s Phoebe Ann!”
My eyes must have flown open wide in amazement because she laughed and hugged me and I had to take a step back to take her in proper.
“Phoebe! My aren’t you the fine lady now, how old are you?”
“Oh that’s just fine Jed, call me a lady and then ask my age, a gentleman don’t do that!”
I hugged her again and swung her around, “Well I was checking, you haven’t grown much!”
“Have too! I’m almost 5 foot 1 now!”
I laughed, “What are you doing here? Everything all right?”
She smiled, “You do worry. I’m looking for work actually. Come to the city hoping to find something I can do. Unfortunately the thing I do best is what you taught me.”
“Now I taught you to shoot out of necessity, not something you should be planning on making a career at,” I said worried.
“You mean like you?” she said it softly her eyes worried. “I hear they call you Kid now. Your famous Jed.”
Sighing I took her hand and pulled her over to a bench on the side.
“Phoebe, I’m sorry you had to hear about that, it’s not something I’m proud of.”
“Man has to eat. I take it you found your cousin then? He’s the Hannibal Heyes they always mention with your name isn’t he? I read some about you in the papers and I got all the dime novels about you both.”
“Phoebe you can’t believe everything you read.”
“I know, so I just remember that kind boy who took the trouble to help me that cold winter and totally stole my heart.”
I looked surprised.
“Oh its true, ain’t been a man able to stand up to my memory of you Jed.”
“Well I hope meeting me put in all back in perspective,” I said grimly. “I’m an outlaw Phoebe, you can do a lot better than the likes of me.”
“No I can’t, but I know I can’t win ya, not sure any woman can. But you can give me courage.”
“Courage?” I asked with a grin.
“I’m entering that shooting contest. Gonna win me that $100.”
I frowned, “Phoebe a shooting contest is no place for a lady.”
“You know this Butler?”
“Yea, but only by reputation, pretty good trick shot.”
“But not as good as you, no one is as good as you.”
Her hero worship struck me to the core. I didn’t deserve it and it embarrassed me.
“Phoebe don’t make me out to be some kind of white knight, I ain’t. I’m an outlaw, a wanted man, in fact you shouldn’t even be talking to the likes of me.”
“I talk to whom I please Jed Curry and you will always be my friend. Now will ya help me? I’m nervous as all get out and I really need that money.”
I thought about offering to win it for her or just giving her the hundred. Heyes and I were flush from the job and I had it and plenty to spare. But I knew I didn’t want her with stolen money and I also knew winning that contest would just escalate her false opinion of me so reluctantly I agreed to go over to the barn and see if I could give her a few tips.
I was to learn the lady no longer needed my help.
********************************
“There you are, where you been? Wanna make a quick hundred?” Heyes grinned as I strolled up.
“Gonna make more than that, see that little lady over there with the rifle?”
“Tiny thing with the dark hair?”
“Bet on her and big.”
“What? Are you crazy? That’s Frank Butler.”
“I know, trust me.”
Heyes frowned, but turned and smiling called Lymon over and said he had decided to make a bet after all.
*****************************
“I sure hope you no what you are doing. Butler just shot 98 out of hundred.”
“I’m sure.”
“She can’t be more than 13.”
“17 actually,” I smiled leaning back against the post behind me to watch Phoebe step up to the mark. There had been a lot of laughter at her entering, but she had stood her ground and Butler, having beaten everyone else, had said let her have her chance.
I could see he was taken with her and it bothered me. Man like that, well Phoebe could do better than a common gunman.
“How the…” Heyes was staring open mouthed as Phoebe began to shoot. The lady truly was poetry in motion. One after another, after another she brought down the clay pigeons until the crowd lost count. But Heyes and I didn’t.
“She got 99!” Heyes grinned turning on me. “That darling sure shot got 99 out of a 100!”
The crowd was torn between disgust and admiration and I quickly made my way up to Phoebe to make sure there was no bad sports about it.
But Butler was just staring starry eyed and Lymon was so amused he counted out Heyes’s winnings without complaint talking the whole time about signing Phoebe up to perform at his hotel.
“How does a dollar a week sound little lady?”
Heyes smiled, “Sounds like you don’t know what a gold mine you have.”
“Stay out of this Rembacker, what are you the lady’s agent?”
Heyes smiled and looked back at me and Phoebe.
“Uh a minute sir,” I said and together we stepped back with Phoebe.
“Phoebe this is my partner, he’s calling himself Rembacker right now.”
“How do you do?” Phoebe said politely. “Jed’s told me a lot about you. You really made out of a tornado?”
Heyes raised his eyebrows interested and gave me a look that said this was going to be remembered to be explained later.
“Pleasure ma’am, that was some shooting.”
“And he wants to give me a dollar a week to do it!” Phoebe said wide-eyed.
“Your worth at least twice that,” Heyes said. “Honey if you’ll let me I think I can get you better.”
Phoebe looked up at me not sure.
“You can trust him Phoebe, Heyes can talk rain out of sunshine.”
“All right and thank you.”
Heyes smiled. I could tell Phoebe’s vulnerability had touched him too and he strolled back to Lymon with a look that said the man didn’t have a chance.
In the end she got 3 dollars a week plus a room at the hotel and meals. Lymon yelled and huffed, but he knew Phoebe would pack them in.
“Lymon you know as well as I do that little sure shot is gonna steal their hearts while you steal their wallets,” Heyes told them.
“Little sure shot, I like that, gonna have to change her name though, need something more western. Well we’ll sort that out later. Ma’am you’ll be on the bill with Butler, should make for quite a show.”
Phoebe watched him walk away and with squeal threw her arms around me.
“Three dollars a week AND room and board!”
I laughed, “What say we go over to the restaurant and have us a celebration and since my partner did rather well betting on you, he can pay.”
Heyes rolled his eyes, but there was a twinkle in them as he offered Phoebe his arm. “It would be a pleasure ma’am. I sure would like to hear how you met my partner.”
I took her other arm and didn’t miss Butler’s frown. I would have to make sure I spoke to him before we left town. Just so we didn’t have any misunderstandings.
Phoebe wasn’t the only one who could out shoot Butler.
******************************
1886
“Well I just don’t like you being this excited about seeing them two,” Butler grumbled as he got up from this dressing table.
I smiled, “Frank they are old friends nothing more.”
“Outlaws you mean.”
“Were outlaws, that amnesty is years old now. If the Governor can get over it I think you should be able to as well.”
“You’re a married woman now, they better understand that.”
“They do Frank,” I said kissing his cheek. “They just happened to be in town working on a case and wanted to come by and see the show. Besides you saw how happy Bill was. I think he wants to try and sign them for a season.”
“Cody is mad, Heyes and Curry with the Wild West show, we don’t need no real outlaws…all right FORMER outlaws. Besides I think all that talk about Curry being so handy with a gun is just that. Ain’t nobody as fast as you say he is. Why I bet you could beat him and I know I could…”
We had stepped out of our tent and were making our way down the fairgrounds to the arena when it all happened.
Four men coming out of the box office guns drawn. The weeks take stuffed in the bags in their hands and a crowd of terrified onlookers caught in the path to their horses.
As they backed up one bumped into a child and whirling around caught him up as a shield. Another pulled the child’s screaming mother in front of him and yelled he’d kill her if anyone tried anything.
Everyone froze not sure what to do. It was too many people, too impossible a shot.
But then legends rarely pay attention to words like impossible.
They came from out of nowhere.
Heyes riding fast and low scooping up the child as Kid just stepped out of the shadows and thought the gun into his hand. He took out the man turning to fire on Heyes and without breathing brought down the man holding the woman. Heyes, having tossed the child clear, ran back and caught her pulling her down behind a barrel and returning fire to catch the third man. It was all Curry needed to bring down the 4th.
No one moved as the two ex outlaws quickly made sure the men were down to stay and satisfied holstered their guns. They had moved without rehearsal or plan, just synchronized after years of watching each other’s back. Years of knowing the other would not fail them.
“Hell,” was all Frank said mouth open.
Our group had seen a lot of trick shooting. They’d seen and performed stunts to dazzle the heads of Europe, but this left them all in awe.
For every one of us knew it was one thing to shoot steady, fast and sure when you were calmly performing, quite another when the target had every intention of killing you.
“Who is that,” someone breathed next to me.
“I think that dark haired fella is Hannibal Heyes himself!” someone gasped impressed.
“Who’s that with him?” someone whispered dazzled.
“That,” I smiled proudly. “Is the man who taught Annie Oakley to shoot.”
Historical Note:
Phoebe Ann Mosely was born August
13, 1860. At the age of 12 she was
supporting her family with her shooting and at age 17 won a contest against
famed marksman Frank Butler. As well as
the match, Butler lost his heart and Phoebe was started on the road to stardom.
In 1884 she joined Buffalo Bill’s
Wild West Show and became the darling of American and Europe, even shooting a
cigarette out of the hand of the German Kaiser.
Nicknamed Little Sure Shot, Phoebe went on to become a legend under the name of Annie Oakley.