SEPTEMEBER 10, 1861

Buck rode up to his and Caly's favorite spot. A smile lit his face when he spotted his ladylove sitting there relaxing. He stopped his horse, dismounted and quietly walked over to her. "Problems?"

Caly looked up. 'Hi, things don't seem to be coming together. I'm ready to run off and get married."

Buck frowns as he sat down next to her. "Caly, I don't care how we get married as long as we do, but your father wants us to marry in the church."

Caly nodded. "I know but I can't get my vows right, Buck."

Buck nodded as he pulled her into his arms. "How about a good distraction. Why don't we get Jimmy and Lee and go have a picnic?"

Caly nodded. "Okay. I can make up a basket."

Buck smiles, stands and helps her to her feet.

They mounted up and headed back to the house. After making a big basket lunch, the couple headed to the station to get their friends.

Lee and Caly were riding along side of Jimmy and Buck. They were going on a picnic, just the four of them. Jimmy and Lee needed some time to themselves and Caly needed a break from planning the wedding. On the way to the picnic spot they had picked out, they saw a wagon train that was in trouble. It looked like one of the wagons had a broken wheel.

They rode up to the wagon train to see if they could help. The first thing that they noticed was the lack of women. There were lots of children and a few men. The men were trying to fix the wheel.

Four of the young girls between the ages of 8-12 first saw the 4 riders as they approached. "Look, here comes some more men, I bet he's promised us to them." One of them said.

"Let's hide." Said another.

"That just makes it worse when he finds us," another one said.

"So he won't find us this time." Said the first.

But when they looked up it was too late. The riders were right there. The riders had heard the whole conversation. The girls just hung their heads down. Jimmy and Buck noticed the bruises on the oldest one's arms. One of the other girls, the smallest, had a black eye and a cut on her cheek.

The two young couples looked at each other. "We saw that you were broken down, and we came to see if we could help."

The girls just looked at them and the smaller ones hid behind the tall ones. They didn't say a word. "Where's your ma?" Lee asked.

"We don't have one. We're on our way to get parents. Or at least that's what the wagon master told us when we left the orphanage in Wyoming."

Lee and the boys just nodded. "Well, that means that we have something in common, three of us are orphans." Lee said.

"And while I have a Pa, my Ma died a few years ago." Caly said.

"Jimmy, why don't you go see if you and Buck can help the men out. We'll stay here with the girls. Give them our food and make sure the others are OK." Lee suggested.

"Here, we were going to have a picnic, but we have more food back at the station and at the house. You can have this food. Caly, can you call the other children over here to eat, please."

"Sure."

"My name is Lee and that's my best friend, Caly. What are your names?"

The tallest one timidly said, "Sarah."

The other three girls followed suit and told their names. "Rhonda." The next tallest said.

"Anne." The next one said.

"Martina." The smallest said.

"Well, Martina, I'd hate to see the other gal." Lee said.

"What do you mean?"

"That black eye."

"Oh that. The Wagon Master did that last night."

Lee and Caly acted shocked but they had suspected as much. "Why?" Caly asked.

"Because it was her birthday. She turned 8 and it was her turn to be broken in." Anne said.

"Anne, I think I know what you mean, but just to make sure tell me, what you mean." Caly said.

"You know, Lee, when you have no Ma and no Pa and you turn eight it's time for you to become some man's whore."

Lee forced a smile, "That's what we thought you meant, honey. But let me tell you something, what he did is wrong and against the law."

"You mean he could get arrested?" Sarah asked, surprised.

"Darlin' he could get hung for what he has been doing to you."

"We don't have to put up with it?"

"No, we don't have to put up with it?" Rhonda asked.

"No, you don't, and we are going to make sure he won't hurt anybody anymore." Lee said. "Caly, you stay here with the girls. I'm going to go get the boys."

The little girls' eyes got wide, and Caly noticed them, "Oh, girls don't worry. When she said she's going to get the boys, she means the boys that we came with, and we know that they won't hurt you, and they will go get the sheriff. These boys won't hurt you, I promise."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well, because they helped me out when a man did the same thing to me. And they saved me from the other men from taking their turn with me."

"You mean they helped you and not them?"

"That's right."

"What happened to the men that did that to you?"

"Oh, he was killed for it. And it's called rape. What he has been doing is raping you and that is against the law. And as long as you are here in Dreamville, the towns people will do whatever they can to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Meanwhile . . .

"Hey, Wild Bill, Can I talk to you for a minute?" Lee asked.

"Sure, sweetheart, just a second. If you gentlemen will excuse me for a minute, my fianc�e needs something." When he got to where she was, he asked, what's up?"

There was only 2 times when she called him Wild Bill, either because she wanted to put some fear into someone for some reason, or . . . well . . . she wanted some real private time if you know what I mean.

"Did she mean Wild Bill Hickok?" One of the men asked after Jimmy went to see what Lee wanted.

"Yep." Is all that Buck said. He knew that something was up. He knew the reasons why Lee would call Jimmy, `Wild Bill'.

"Find some reason to get those men into town or to Teaspoon. They hurt those little girls."

"You mean they were the reason that the girls have bruises?"

"I mean they raped them, Jimmy!"

Jimmy's eyes turned black and he saw red. "Fine, Buck'll follow my lead. I'll make something up."

"Thank you."

"You just get those girls to town. We'll come behind you. I want Teaspoon to see those girls first."

"Now, Jimmy you know the ranch is the closest."

"You're right." Jimmy started to smile.

"What?"

"I just remembered, Teaspoon said that he had some business to talk over with Mr. Johnson. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him before he leaves the house. Take the kids to the Johnson house." Lee nodded, and Jimmy kissed her and went back to his work.

"Buck, I don't think we can get it fixed tonight. The girls are going to take the kids up to the house. I think we will need help. We can go get Teaspoon, and the others."

"Others?"

"Oh yeah. We're Pony Express Riders and we can fix this back at the Pony Express Station. But the Station Master also works in town, so we have to go to town to clear it through him. He'll put you up, I'm sure." Jimmy said. Lock you up more like it, he thought.

"What about the kids?" Buck asked.

"Oh, Lee and Caly are going to take them back to the house. We can get them to town later, but they need to be fed and so they are going to feed them."

"That was nice of your women to do that. We will have to repay you somehow."

"No, that won't be necessary. We are only trying to do what's right."
Buck said.

If you only knew, Buck, if you only knew. Jimmy thought.

Caly and Lee loaded the children up in the other wagons and headed off to the house. When they got there Teaspoon was just coming out of Steven's office.

"Teaspoon, we have to talk with you." Lee told Teaspoon the whole story while Caly took all but, Anne, Rhonda, Sarah, and Martina into the house to eat.

Teaspoon looked at the young girls and said, "Don't you worry none. We'll take care of those low down good for nothin' varmints."

"Jimmy and Buck are taking them into town."

"Alright, I'll head on to town and you go get the rest of the riders. I want back up for this. I want to make sure these men stay in jail."