Chapter Two

The next morning, they continued through the desert. Everyone shielded their faces from the burning sun with hats or blankets. A few men walked along side of the cattle, making sure they stayed on track.

The cart came to a stop. Everyone sat up, confused at what was happening. "What the bloody hell is it?" Hobb, one of the men in the wagon, asked.

Coogan peered his eyes, scanning the distance. "Redcoats." He said. Sure enough, a group of them came riding out from the green hills into the desert. "Mr. Ashely-Bloody-Pitt and his heroes."

The men loaded their guns, hiding them under blankets as the redcoats approached the wagon. Seeing their reactions, Eugene let a sigh. "Friends of yours?" He asked.

"They're British." Hobb answered, his eyebrows furrowed.

And that was all he needed to say.

Soon, the redcoats were at the wagon. The cows let out some moos, frightened by the horses. "Get that bloody thing away from my team!" The major shouted.

"Why are you taking the body back?" Coogan asked, pointing the body on the back of one of the redcoats' horses.

"We've got orders to bring in all suspected cattle thieves." One redcoat said.

"The bugger's dead." Broody argued.

"The trial will not be lengthy." The major said. Eugene looked down, knowing why they were still taking the body. "Carry on, Sergeant."

"We're looking for two deserters." The sergeant explained.

"Can't say I blame 'em." Coogan said.

"Have you seen 'em?"

Coogan took a long pause, glaring at them. "No."

The group of redcoats scrunched their noses, unimpressed with the group of men in front of them. The major studied them, trying to remember their faces when he landed on the women in the back. "New distractions, eh?" Then he noticed Eugene. "Who is this chap on the back here?"

"That's the Yank Gaston's brought out." Coogan explained.

"Yank, eh?" The major repeated. "Come to do for Gaston what these bog-Irish convicts obviously can't. Well, you just do your job and stay out of trouble. In our experience, Americans are uncouth misfits who've been run out of their own barbaric country."

Eugene let out a sigh. "Well, Lieutenant-"

"Major!" He corrected.

Eugene had to force himself to not roll his eyes. "Major," he corrected with an annoyed smile. "We already run the misfits out of our country." He said. He leaned over the wagon, spitting into the dusty dirt. "We sent 'em back to England."

The major's jaw dropped as the men on the wagon snickered to themselves. If only they could run out the redcoats. They seemed to cause nothing but trouble for the people of Australia.

Offended by Eugene, the redcoats rode off into the distance, leaving the group alone. The men called out the cattle, getting them to move again.

Along the way, a herd of kangaroos jumped in the distance. They hopped over the tall grass and into the shade of the tree. Rapunzel grabbed a pair of tiny glasses and smushed them against her face and leaned forward. She laid on her stomach then tapped Eugene's shoulder. "What are they? Koala bears?"

"Kangaroos, I reckon." He answered, watching them in the distance.

She giggled. "Well, whatever they are, Jack, nature sure played an awful trick on 'em."

"I am fed up with you." Eugene sighed, looking at her. She took off the glasses and looked up at him. "And I am fed up with Jack, whoever he is. My name is Eugene."

"Well, pardon the hell outta me." She scoffed as he dug through his bag. "I can't believe you'd talk to me like that, Jack. I oughta wash your mouth out with soap if I had some."

"Lady, you are about a half a bubble off the plumb, and that's for sure and for certain."

"Just because the road is rocky doesn't mean your spirits should get rocky too." She scolded. Eugene looked back at her, watching her press the glasses against her face and watch the kangaroos again.

"When do we get to Gaston's ranch?" Eugene asked, looking at the men.

"We've been on his bloody land for the last two days." Coogan said.

xxx

They rested for the night again. Eugene sat away from the fire, staring off into the dark distance. He looked up admiring the bright stars in the sky. He listened to the strange bird calls, wondering what the animal looked like.

"Things seem different here."

Here she was again.

"They say God made Australia last, don't you know?" She said, kneeling down beside him. "After he got tired of making everything else the same." She smiled, looking at the sky.

"Well, I've seen some pretty country, that's for certain." Eugene replied. He paused, putting out his cigarette. He looked over at her. "What are you doing so far from home?" He asked. Her accent wasn't like everyone else. She talked just like she was in the Wild West back in America.

She smiled, looking at him. "There hasn't been anyone else but you."

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the ground. What was she saying to him? What was happening?

"You know that, don't you?" She asked. He looked back, seeing her grinning. Her hands went to her chest as she began unbuttoning her dress. "You can take me if you want to, Jack."

Realizing what was happening, he jumped to his feet. "God Almighty, lady. Go to sleep."

She grinned as she watched him walk away. Oh, she was so in love with him. She let out a soft sigh, so happy to have him back.

xxx

The next morning, they finally reached Gaston's. Everyone was greeted by the ranch hands. But standing off to the side were the Aborigines. Eugene couldn't help but wonder what they were doing here.

Once they were in the front yard, everyone jumped off from the wagon. It felt great to finally be at their destination. Eugene was stretching when a man walked up to him. "Eugene Fitzherbert." He said. He held out his hand. "Gaston Myers. Welcome to Australia."

Eugene took his hand and gladly shook it. "Well, sir, your men already welcomed me."

Gaston looked at them, seeing the bruises on their faces. "Coogan, Mr. Fitzherbert's luggage. Take it to the lodge." He demanded.

The man let out a sign then walked to the wagon. Eugene held up his gun, stopping the man from coming any closer. Eugene looked back at Gaston. "Mr. Myers, you said you'd pay me $50 in gold coin just for showing up."

"You don't waste much time." Gaston said.

"I spent three months on a boat just gettin' here." Eugene said, leaning against his gun.

Gaston sighed, digging into his pocket. "You intrigued me, Mr. Fitzherbert." He said, handing him the money. "Twenty-one men answered my advertisement, from all over the world. Canada, India, England. They just wrote letters." He explained as he dug into his pocket again. "But you had a way with words."

He opened the letter, continuing on. "My advertisement simply stated that I wanted to hire the finest long-distance marksman in the world." He said. The letter Eugene sent was the advertisement but with a few bullet holes in it. On it was Eugene's name and a mark of 900 yards. "Have I?"

Eugene walked into the open. He removed his rifle from its cover, making the men gasp. "Legendary Sharp." Gaston said, impressed.

"You know your weapons. It's a lever-action breach loader. Usual barrel length's 30 inches. This one has an extra four. It's converted to use a special .45-caliber, 110-grain metal cartridge with a 540-grain paper-patched bullet." He explained as he showed everyone the proper pieces and parts he was describing. "It's fitted with double set of triggers and a vernier sight. It's marked up to 1,200 yards. This one shoots a mite further."

"An experimental weapon with experimental ammunition." Gaston said.

"You could call it that." Eugene said.

"Let's experiment." Gaston said, crossing his arms. "Whitey, take that bucket and ride out until I signal." He commanded.

Whitey jumped onto his horse, grabbed the bucket, and rode off into the distance. Everyone wanted to see how far this gun could go. That, and everyone wanted to see how good Eugene really was.

"Tell me when you want him to stop." Gaston said to Eugene.

Eugene looked up then went back to putting his gun together. Everyone looked at each other, surprised Eugene hadn't said anything yet.

One of the women leaned over to Rapunzel. "Your man able to hit something that far away?"

"I don't know him. I never saw him before." Rapunzel mumbled, biting on her hair. The women furrowed her eyebrows. She was all over him the entire trip? What did she mean?

"About there'll do." Eugene spoke up, not even looking.

Gaston fired a shot into the air. Whitey slowed down the horse then dropped the bucket. Men laughed as they saw how far away the bucket was. There was no way Eugene could hit that. "Bullshit." Varian whispered.

Eugene walked forward a few paces. He knelt down, eyeing the bucket. He could easily hit that. He pinched the dirt, letting it slip between his fingers to see how strong the wind was. He stood back up then began to load his gun.

He took off his hat then stared into the distance. He brought up his gun and aimed at the bucket. It was dead silent as everyone watched him.

"Are you quite certain, Mr. Fitzherbert, that you wouldn't like the bucket a bit closer?" Gaston asked, making Eugene bring down his gun. Eugene paused, thinking about it. Then he snapped it back up and fired.

The bullet shot straight through the bucket, sending it flipping through the air. The men shouted, surprised that he hit it. They laughed in disbelief, speaking to each other.

Eugene turned and looked at Gaston. "Quite certain."

He aimed forward again and fired, hitting the bucket again. Then again.

Rapunzel smiled, resting her arm over the other woman. "Told you. Only my Jack could hit a coyote from that distance." The woman scooted away, realizing Rapunzel really was crazy.

Eugene blew through the rifle as Gaston walked up to him. "Very impressive. You're hired."

Eugene nodded his head, knowing he would be.

In the distance, one of the gates opened. Two men appeared, dragging two others with them. Gaston slightly shuffled looking at the group. "Would you excuse me for a minute?" He asked. "There's some business I have to attend to. You might find this interesting." He said as he walked away.

"Nice shootin', Jack." Rapunzel grinned.

He let out a sigh, turning around. "Mr. Myers?" He asked. Gaston stopped, turning to look at Eugene. "I think there's been a mistake. The one they call Raving Rapunzel."

She looked over at the other men, growling at them like a dog.

"I'd appreciate it if your men'd leave her alone till you and I have a chance to talk." Eugene continued, ignoring her. He remembered why they had brought other women here and he couldn't have that done to her. She wasn't right in the head and she didn't know what she would be getting herself into.

Gaston nodded his head. "Whatever you want."

He walked to the group of four men. Two of them had been placed in front of a fence. "You are deserters from Her Majesty's armed forces." Gaston declared. "The penalty for your crime is death. Plus, you were caught on my land. I could have you shot for trespassing."

"Look, you let us stay here, guvnor, we'll serve you proper." One of the men said. One of the ranch hands grabbed the man by the shirt. The deserter chuckled. "Better than this convict scum you've got."

"Unfortunately your commanding officer, Major Ashley-Pitt and I have an understanding. And so I'm afraid you'll be sent back to face the firing party." Gaston said. "But I see no reason why you should be trussed up like animals. Mr. Dobkin."

Gaston walked a few paces away, looking to see if Eugene was intrigued. Eugene was curious, watching the scene unfold. What was happening? Eugene could tell it wasn't going to end well, that's for sure.

Dobkin began to release the deserters, freeing them from the ropes around their wrists. Once one of them was loose, he grabbed for the gun against the fence. Gaston whipped around, shooting the deserter in the chest. He aimed for the other one, killing him too.

Everyone was silent, unsure what to do.

Gaston walked to Eugene, holding up his gun. "This is my preferred weapon, Mr. Fitzherbert." He flipped it around his finger then slid it into his holster. "Do join me for dinner."

He walked away, leaving Eugene alone. Eugene let out a sigh, beginning to put his rifle away. What had he gotten himself into?

~~~~~~~~~~