Young, skinny, wiry fellows, not over 18. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25 per week. Apply PONY EXPRESS OFFICE.
The Pony Express was created to get the mail form coast to coast. Boys became men, I...
About a week after the whole mess with the renegades Ivy was on the run to Rock Creek. Ahead of her she heard shots followed by screams and howls. Spinning Traveler she raced in the direction of the noise. In a bowl formed by the surrounding hills sat a stage coach. The stage horses were still hitched to the traces as they danced around trying to avoid the ruckus around them. Numerous badly dressed 'Indians' circled the stage firing shots at whoever happened to be in their line of sight. Two men lay dead off to the side, most likely the driver and shotgun guard. As she watched, trying to formulate a plan, she saw 2 men jump from the coach and run for what little cover they could find. They didn't make it fare before they were gunned down. A woman's screams sounded form the coach at the sight. Leaping from the coach she to tried to run but was brought down by one of the horsemen as he tackled her. Ivy chose that moment to take part in the fight. Firing her pistol she pushed Traveler down the hill to the pair. Quickly she killed the man who had taken the woman down, allowing the lady to get up and run away.
"Ma'am, I'm a pony express rider. I won't hurt you!", she yelled to her as the stranger ran.
This seemed to register in the panicked woman, because she turned and allowed Ivy to stop her horse long enough to swing on behind her. The pair almost made it over the crest of the hill when a shot was fired, the woman behind her losing her grip as she fell from the horse dead.
"NO!", Ivy cried out as she faced the oncoming riders. One man's face in particular caught her eye, imprinting within her mind. He sneered at her as she stared at them. With a lighting draw she pulled her pistol back out and fired. Men went down until her gun was empty, all the while she urged her horse away. Finally they gave up, allowing her to escape. Tears streaked down her tanned face as she vowed to do something for the poor people whose lives she didn't save.
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"People are saying that a band of rogue Indians has been attacking the stages and Pony Express riders lately. You know anything about that?", Sand asked as he sat in his office.
"No. I don't see why people think it was Indians, the men I saw were purely white.", Ivy argued as she explained what she had seen.
"Well, I'm not saying I don't believe you, but all of the other incidents that have been reported have involved Indians. Unfortunately the locals haven't a deep love for the Natives as is, and with all of the trouble up North between the Indians and settlers, it's pretty easy to see why." the big Marshal sighed.
Ivy rolled her eyes in disbelief. She knew that Sand was right, but hearing her people, though they were not Cherokee, being blamed for white men's problem rankled her.
"Thank you for your time Marshal.", the Pony Express rider left the office, walking down the board walk with her head down.
"Hey watch it boy!", a man's voice snarled when she bumped in them. Jerking her head up she was met with the ugly eyes of the man who was at the stage coach massacre. The two men on either side of him, she also recognized.
