Hell Follows After (Monster of the Apocalypse Saga) by C. Henry Martens Page B

their turn at the carcasses. Game had been scarce, and the meat would not be wasted. Sage did not make the best curative for jerky, and especially since there was no time to properly process the meat, but it would suffice. Certainly the result would be better than any of the salted meat or stringy animals they had managed to shoot lately. The few girls in the expedition would stay up all night, making sure the fires underneath the drying meat would stay lit and smoking.
    The hitch from the Smithy wagon was brought round after it had been placed for the evening in the circle. A hydraulic jack from a Wheelwright’s wagon was borrowed, and others brought blocks and a long pole to be used as a lever. Between the tools and all the extra help, some only given vocally and in humor, the wagon was pried from the vise that held it and backed off the bridge. Soon the old wagon filled a hole left for it in the camp circle.
    Muffy and Occam invited the Wheelwright, his wife, and his apprentice to dinner. The man knew he would be asked to inspect the wagon and render an opinion on its soundness. He was glad to do it, and his wife joined in by helping Muffy with the meal. Fresh steak was on the menu.
    Expecting some wrath on her return to the Renoite’s wagon, Jody was pleasantly surprised. They had watched in their concern for the troubling situation and decided the girl was being helpful. The couple wanted to see what would happen with the injury as well. There was always room in a wagon for a healer.

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    The next morning the ox had no visible limp, but by the end of the day, on light duty and being led behind one of the wagons, it favored the leg. Another poultice on the animal’s leg and another day of walking left the limp still noticeable. On the third day Edge could no longer see a problem.
    A less knowledgeable man might have wanted to use the beast right away, but Edge knew well that the leg required further time. He watched as Jody made each poultice and applied it every night.
    Asking questions of each other in regard to the medication and animal care in general led to other subjects. This was the first real opportunity to converse since Reno, and they found much common ground. Edge knew his breeding techniques and how to evaluate stock and impressed Jody with his ready humor and gentle ways as he massaged the oxen’s leg before the poultice went on. The girl flattered the young man with the attention she made to him with her beautiful eyes, but he came to value that she had valid opinions and even more that she was not afraid to express them. She was unlike any girl he had met in Sullivan Territory.
    By the end of the week, they were approaching Elko. Since most of the road was fairly level, the rested team was given short stints in front of the lighter conveyance, and the injured ox did well. In Elko he would rest for another day as trade commenced.

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    Elko being a small community of mostly men, the women of the train were ogled as they set up camp. Miners gathered as they returned from their diggings and interfered with chores in their efforts to speak with anybody, hungry for news of anything outside Elko. The few women in town had been worn out by the attentions of the local men, and though curious, were not polite.
    There were corrals next to a stable, and Occam suggested to Edge that he inspect the contents as well as anything else he could find.
    Never having seen a domesticated burro, Edge inspected them with interest. He had heard of them, seen some wild ones as they traveled, and had once seen a team of mules owned by a traveling tinker, but these animals were different. They were smaller than their wild cousins and stood with their heads hanging and tails switching flies.
    Although wild burros had been relatively common in the deserts of Nevada two hundred years ago, part of the wild horse program, the people who populated and grew into the new native inhabitants saw them as food.
    There were a couple of