Emergency at the Pony Express

It was a hot dusty day at the Pony Express station. There were no packages coming and the riders were getting antsy. Jesse, the youngest rider at age 16, was re-shoeing his pony, and Kale, Jesse’s older brother, was sitting on the porch watching the Texas dust blow.
Jesse stood up, patted the pony and said, “Well Sarah, we are ready to go now.” He then walked to the water barrel and drank a large ladleful, liquid rolling down his shirt.
Kale looked at the horizon and saw two dark silhouette’s approaching.
“Hey Jesse!” Kale hollered, “I think a job’s a- comin’.”
Jesse looked around the corner of the station to see the figures growing by the second. He quickly ate a biscuit, then stood on the porch watching as the men arrived.
The men were obviously military, both wearing navy blue uniforms, their horses were stark black with manes and tales cut short.
“What can we do for you’s today?” Kale asked.
“We need you to deliver a package to Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” one of the men said.
“Why can’t you take it yourself?” Jesse questioned.
The two men looked at each other warily.
“Umm... well, frankly, there are people trying to get ahold of this package and we thought that if we used civilian delivery they probably wouldn’t find it.”
“We will pay extra of course,” the other man put in.
Jesse looked excited and Kale looked wary.
“Will you just give us a minute to talk?” Kale asked in that way people ask when they really are commanding.
“Yes of course,” the younger man said and the two of them led their horses over to the barn to give them water.
“I don’t like it!” Kale stated. “I think we should let this one go.” Jesse looked shocked and exclaimed, “What?! We really need the extra greenbacks. It’s not too far, and they said whoever’s looking for it wouldn’t look for us!”
Kale started playing with his hat the way he did when he was thinking.
“Come on, it’ll be fun! We haven't got a job for days!”
“I really don’t think...”
“Kale! If this was any other job you would take it. The only difference is who hired us,” Jesse interrupted.
“All right,” Kale said with a large exhale.
Kale and Jesse then told the military men that they would take the job. The men gave them a tiny package and wished them good fortune; then the brothers got ready to ride.
Usually they wouldn’t ride together but Kale had insisted they did this time. Jesse hopped on Sarah while Kale saddled and mounted his horse Bob.
Soon they were out the gates and running full speed to Baton Rouge.
* * *
They had been riding for three hours through the dry plains when ahead they saw a grove of trees and what looked like a creek running through it. Knowing their horses would need a rest they decided to head there.
As they approached the trees Kale noticed a rifle casing on the dry grass, and Jesse could have sworn he saw something moving in the trees. They slowed down as they approached the creek. They both heard a stick crack... or was that a rifle cocking. Kale was scared, dead scared, even though he didn’t know for sure there was a gun pointing at him. He felt like it was right at the back of his neck. They had just gotten to the creek and the horses had thirstily started to drink when Jesse drawled, “ Hey Kale, remember that time we snuck away from the house so we wouldn’t have to clean the barn?”
Kale was startled by the way Jesse sounded like he didn’t know anything was wrong, but he answered, “Yeeaah.”
“And remember how just when we were about to jump in the water Dad came around the corner?” Jesse asked laughing.
“Yeeaah.”
“Ahh... it was great the way we just took off... so fast.” Jesse sighed they way people do when they are remembering things.
That's when Kale got it. Jesse wanted to run. ‘Why does he always have to be so cryptic?’ he thought, but then he said, “That was the only way to get away.” They gave each other a quick glance before shooting out of the creek just as they heard the rifle fire! Jesse looked over his shoulder and saw two men wearing military uniforms of the Spanish, standing there aiming at him. Kale twisted around just to shoot four quick shots in their direction, to slow them down.
“Ok you were right, we shouldn’t have taken this job,” Jesse admitted.
They rode on until dark when they made a camp for the night.
“No one else has tried to kill us. Don't you think that’s a little odd?” Jesse asked calmly.
“No. I think people trying to kill me is odd.”
“Maybe those men at the creek haven’t been able to report that they didn’t get us yet,” Jesse said hopefully.
“Well, if that’s true then we know they will have told someone by tomorra’. I think there will be more.”
“Do you think if we changed clothes they wouldn’t recognize us?” Jesse asked yawning.
“They will recognize us. Go to sleep, Jesse!”
Kale then rolled over and promptly went to sleep.
Jesse laid on his back and looked at the stars until he could stay awake no longer.
* * *
Early in the morning the two of them woke up and started riding again. Around noon they came to a bridge spanning the last major obstacle between them and safety, a very wide river. Once they cross the bridge it would be a ten hour ride to town. But there were people standing on the bridge in Spanish military uniforms checking people.
“This is not good!” Kale complained.
“Maybe if we just ride as fast as we can...” Jesse starting going on with an extravagant plan.
Kale condescended, “No. If we run they will shoot. They probably have our pictures.”
“This is the dry season; we could try and swim.”

“That's what I was thinking,” Kale agreed. They rode down to the river bank then upstream an hour till they found a wide part. Giving their ponies words of encourage-ment, they rode into the river. Halfway in they thought they were gone, with the cold water rushing everywhere, but the ponies pulled through. When they got to the other bank they started a fire to dry their clothes. By the time their clothes were dry it was too late to keep going, so they spent the night assaulted by bugs and mosquitos.
* * *
They awoke early the next morning and found it took them another hour to get back to the road. They got to Baton Rouge around six p.m.
“Where are we supposed to deliver this?” Jesse asked.
“We are supposed to wait outside the first store we see.”
The two of them looked around until they saw a little store off to the side.
They waited two long muggy hours until a tall man in a long coat walked up to them. “Are you Kale and Jesse?”
They nodded.
“Give me the package.”
Kale reached into his bag. When he pulled out the package there was a loud BANG! The tall man looked right at Kale; Kale looked scared. Slowly, the tall man looked down at his chest to see a river of blood running down his shirt, dripping to his feet. He fell down and died in a pool of his own blood.
Reholstering their weapons, the two men who had first hired Jesse and Kale calmly walked up to them.
“Thank you. Here is your pay.” They took the package and handed Kale double what was promised.
As the men turned to walk away Jesse asked them, “Who was that guy?”
The men turned around and said, “He was a Spanish soldier.”
Everyone shook hands as if they weren’t standing over a dead man, then they walked away from each other.
“From now on let’s just deliver normal mail.” Kale said smiling.
Jesse grinned and said, “Ohh, yeah!”









For all you reading this please don't steal my story and call it yours. I worked hard on this! : )