Marisa studied her surroundings carefully, hoping to reach the outskirts of the town soon. She was getting paid well for her services, that was for sure...still she couldn’t shake the frustration inside of her. Yeah, she had been the bait for several men, but somehow she didn’t think that this time would be the same. From what she had heard about this man, he was caring, and thoughtful...not like so many of the other men that she had “tempted” into bankruptcy or worse. A sweet guy was just going to complicate things...they always did!

And that was another thing! Who did her boss think he was asking her to take on a mission like this? She’d never had any experience with the army before...much less the soldiers in it. The very thought of their lifestyle disgusted her. Greedy, foul, and boorish were just a few of the descriptions that swept across the plains about those slimy maggots. She, a lady, deserved much better than that!

Rich, handsome, ugly, smart, stupid, snobbish, self-sufficient, married, single, lonely, happy, sad, depressed...she’d met them all shapes and sizes. They had one thing in common too, these fellas were all nothing but her ticket to money, success, and a feeling of power (for whatever that was worth).

As she thought about it, her life once again sounded depressing. It always did before she embarked on her next journey. However, once she starting milking him for all he was worth...it paid off beautifully. Besides, it was better than working at some of those other places, although sometimes she wondered...

“I just hope this one doesn’t have a girlfriend,” she said aloud...knowing that it would feel better to speak it, rather than think it. “The last one caused more trouble than the guy’s money was worth.” Marisa chuckled at the memories of the man’s timid behavior towards her. They all start out like frightened little mice...but by the time she was finished with them, they were wrapped around her little finger and ready to be boiled in oil.

She smiled to herself in satisfaction...this man wasn’t going to be any different either.

Mark realized that his arrival might come as an extreme surprise. It had to have been at least five years since he had last seen her. Would she be happy or angered to see him? He couldn’t decide...but either way it was something that he was going to do.

Working with the newspaper hadn’t been his ideal choice for a job, so he decided that he’d travel around...possibly find his niche somewhere else. After all, there were lots of periodicals and journalism career offers out there. He just didn’t want anyone telling him what he had to do or what it was that he had to write about.

The small town appeared on the horizon, looking busy and very much alive. It wasn’t St. Louis, or any of those larger cities...but still, it looked as if it could handle just about any dilemma. There was a rustic, old-fashioned, steadfast look to the buildings...almost like something out of a book. Book? Could it be that this was the setting for his new story idea? Perhaps so!

For now though, he was content driving riverboats and dreaming as he steered his way down the winding Mississippi. It was quite a contrast...being a writer verses piloting boats, but for now, he was content with his life as it were. After all, he was only 25 and as far as he was concerned there were many years ahead that would hold plenty of adventure.

Taking his ledger out of the saddle bag, he began writing down some of the basic thoughts that were running through his mind. He had character ideas and the plot figured out, but there was always that sticky problem of names or more importantly...locations. Maybe Rock Creek wouldn’t be such a bad start for a setting? He could always change it later.

Licking his dry lips, he decided that it was time to find his old comrade. He heard that Louise was working at the Pony Express station...and the best part of it all was that he could picture it. She had the spirited stamina that was required for such a line of work. Stamina that might just fit that other character of mine, he snickered to himself.

Lou began sorting through the pile of books and papers that had been stacked on the shelves. It was amazing how much junk that they could all compile. In fact, it was ridiculous! But the best part of this “spring cleaning” was that it helped to take her mind off of the predicament at hand. Buck had arrived back at the station not long after Kid, and it was then that he explained his side of the adventure. He described the man who had asked him to pass the message in detail, but failed to mention the beating that he had suffered because of it. Knowing that Kid would react irrationally in response to such an action, Buck came to the conclusion that he better just ride this one out. If anyone asked questions, he would gladly answer them, but until then it remained as none of his business.

After being put to work by Lou to help her clean, Kid made up an excuse of why he had to go into town. It was, as always, a weak reason, but Lou didn’t make an issue of it. He needed to get away, she realized that. Besides, Jimmy would be back any moment now and she wanted the chance to speak to him about this situation to see if he had any suggestions to offer.

Just as she was thinking about Jimmy arriving, she heard the familiar sound of footsteps on the porch and she quickly stood up to brush the dust off of her clothes. It was quite a shock when the arrival knocked on the door rather than just entering as was customary.

“Jimmy, it ain’t locked!” She said, with a chuckle. It probably meant that one of the boys was going to play a trick on her, therefore she was going to beat them to the punch. Oh yes, she’d saved up for this one! Last time one of them knocked on the door, Jesse had thrown a bucket of cold water on her...and what they did after that...well, let’s just say it was something she wanted to forget!

Sneaking up to the door, she grabbed the basket of shredded paper that she had carefully trimmed into tiny strips. It was hard not to giggle as she thought about the unsuspecting wide-eyed look that she would get from whoever it was that was at the door.

“Just a moment!” She said in a sweet high-pitched voice. Obviously the person standing outside was not Jimmy, as he had not responded to her beckoning to go ahead and come in. Tip-toeing over to the door, she made sure to stay clear of the window.

Slowly putting her back up to the door, she reached for the handle and on the count of three, opened it with one quick yank. Not even looking to see who it was, Lou pitched the bucket of papers onto the man who stood outside casually. He jumped back, and as he did so, Lou stopped her hysterical laughter. Whoever it was that she had just covered in scraps, was decidedly NOT one of the boys.

Lou covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think, I mean I didn’t know...I mean....Samuel?” She gasped, realizing who it was that stood before her brushing off the papers.

His smile beamed, just as she had remembered it. Stuttering, she opened the door wider and offered for him to come in and take a seat. “I’m so sorry! I really didn’t mean to cover you. It’s just that, well, some of the boys I work with are always playing pranks on me...and I thought, oh I’m sorry!”

Taking the basket from her hand, in a fatherly manner, he motioned for them both to sit down. Yes, she was almost exactly as he had pictured her. Naturally her hair was shorter, and her attire was not exactly that of a woman, but still, that girlish-glimmer had remained. “Well, it sounds to me as if you are prepared. That’s good!” He chuckled, “If you’ll recall, I helped to teach you some of those “getting-even” tricks a few years back. Now if you’ll just do it to the right person, I’ll say that my instruction was a success!”

Lou grinned at his colorful manner of speech. In spite of his lack of formal education, Samuel had always made it a point to expand his vocabulary. In fact, shortly after he had instructed her in writing, he had made it a point to teach her as many different words as possible. “Writing is the key to speaking, and speech the key to communication! If you don’t have all of them, you’d better move to a deserted island tomorrow,” he used to tell her.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” Lou asked, her voice full of excitement. It felt good to see an old friend, because it had only been a few days ago that she had begun to miss several of her companions at the orphanage. Stacy had written her, and was as customary, she spent half of the letter in reflection of the past.

Reaching into his pocket, Mark pulled out a watch on a golden chain. Gently, he pulled her arm towards himself and placed the treasure inside of the palm of her hand. Her eyes grew wide and she looked at him, speechless. “Actually there were several reasons. Why just the other day I was wondering how my star pupil was doing, and I ran across this. I thought it was only fitting that I bring it to you personally.”

She examined it carefully, “Oh Samuel! I don’t believe it! This was my grandfather’s. I thought it had been lost forever. I don’t know what to say, except thank you.”

“And ‘thank you’ is enough, my dear,” he replied with a wink. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be so happy to see me after all of those words I made you write out.”

“You know I forgave you for that,” she teased, “It was letting Peter dip my braids in the ink that I never forgave you for.”

Kid came back from town, not realizing that he had completely walked in a circle...while accomplishing nothing. He couldn’t help but think about those days back in Virginia. Days when things had been a whole lot simpler, and if he had it to do over, he would have specifically not gotten himself into the position where Seth had to rescue him. What he had done was not worth the agony that being called into duty by the army was going to cause.

Making his way back to the station, he met up with Jimmy who had ridden up a few seconds prior to his arrival. “Hi Kid, what’s up?” He asked nonchalantly, not aware of the depth that such an inquiry could bring upon.

Kid gave him a ‘you don’t want to know’ look and raised his eyebrows. Jimmy muttered a nervous, “Okay, bad question,” under his breath and continued to gather his things together.

“I don’t know Jimmy,” Kid began, accepting his best friend’s welcoming disposition as a go-ahead to release his worries.

“Well, I’ve tried to tell you that things just have a way of working themselves out, Kid.” Jimmy responded, anticipating that this could perhaps turn out to be one of their very lengthy conversations about Lou.

Kid sighed, “Actually, this time it ain’t about Lou.”

“Oh?” Jimmy let the young boy they had hired for the week to take his horse, “Let’s go inside and I’ll see if I can help.”

Nodding, Kid helped take his gear and the two men walked up the stairs...not realizing what they were about to walk into.

Samuel laughed as Lou began explaining some of the things that she had to put up with, and how exactly it was that she came about getting this job for the Pony Express. He, of course, found it fascinating, and took notes as she talked.

Kid opened the bunkhouse door and instinctively he stopped, causing Jimmy to run into the back of him. The man sitting at the table with Lou was not his friend, he could tell that right away. So who was he?

The presence of the stranger also disturbed Jimmy, he didn’t trust any man that came around the station anymore. There were just too many wackos in the world for his taste. He eyed the man suspiciously as he slowly pushed past Kid.

Before he opened his mouth, Lou stood up and pulled Kid over towards the table. She waited until Jimmy had set down the rest of his things before she did the same with him. “Jimmy...Kid, I’d like you to meet an old friend of mine, Mr. Samuel Langhorne Clemens.”

Extending his hand to the two men, who still stood defensively, Lou’s friend smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Louise here has been telling me a lot about you. But actually, before we go too much further, I think I better tell you, I now go by the name Mark.....Mark Twain.”

On to Chapter Three

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