Outlaws - An American Youth - [Charles Smith x OC]

Chapter 6 - Scenes from daily life

The camp was still very calm when I woke up that morning. We could feel the sun coming, although still hidden. Without making a sound, as the girls were still sleeping, I got up to get closer to the water. Soon the rose and gold from the sky came dancing on the water of the lake. My sister Charlotte was a very good watercolorist, no doubt she would have transformed this landscape into a masterpiece.

Not having her gifts, I concentrated, trying to capture every reflection, every shadow, in my head. I wanted to engrave this moment forever. I felt such serenity that I was cut off from the world. That's why I jumped when someone approached. It was Hosea, the thinking head of the team, Dutch's reasonable other half. If the latter was the captain, Hosea was the navigator, the one who turned his friend's dreams into reality.

"I didn't mean to scare you.

- I admired the landscape. Oh, I suspect you've seen much nicer places than this. But I've always lived in Valentine, I never really strayed from it. And this is the first landscape of my new life. So, this lake, these mountains... I feel I'll never get tired of looking at them.

- It is a great quality to see the beauty of the world, and to know when to stop to admire it."

We said nothing for a few long moments.

"You shouldn't hang around too long, or Miss. Grimshaw will drag you back to work."

I laughed softly and nodded, heading for the camp. The tasks were rather simple and repetitive: providing water for the kitchen and the dishes. Caring for horses. Doing the laundry. Chop wood. Life on the camp's protective grounds was no different from life on the ranch. Livelier. Messier. More joyful? It's the memory I have of Clemens Point camp.

I did my best to complete all these tasks. It seemed to me that this was the best way to gain acceptance, as I wasn't part of their world. The only job that was taken away from me was sewing. It had never been my strong suitand Miss Grimshaw noticed it very quickly. But I had proven myself elsewhere.

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That day, there was tension between Pearson and Sadie. The man kept throwing spikes at her, so much so that she ended up losing patience and brandished the knife she was using. I think if Arthur hadn't intervened, she would have killed him. She did not like cooking, she wanted another job, to participate in the life of the gang, just like men. Arthur took her shopping in Rhodes.

"At least, you're a reasonable woman Miss Grey.

- I don't think so Mr. Pearson. I didn't like my future, so I joined you. She was happy and lost everything. In her place, I too would have pinned you."

He groaned something and we went back to work in silence. I was finishing cutting the vegetables when Sadie and Arthur returned. I helped them unload the cart, while Pearson resumed hostilities against the young woman. I hurried to get away from their incessant quarrels. I still took the time to compliment her on her new outfit.

Indeed, she had taken advantage of this getaway to buy clothes that she found to be more comfortable: a shirt and pants. She had also added a belt and a holster to her range. I wouldn't be the one to criticize her choice of dress, as it was mine, I could only understand it. Nothing could beat the feeling of freedom and strength that came from men's clothes. A simple piece of cloth changed our way of being, and with it, our way of facing the world.

--

One day, an unknown man entered the camp. He was the only one I hadn't met yet, he was coming back after what he called "a time of penance", followed by a lucrative stagecoach attack with Arthur. Wearing a blood-red shirt and a white hat, what set him apart from the others were his long blond hair and his mustache. There was something different about him, I think I noticed it right away. I had a strange feeling the first time I met his steel blue eyes.