The Bandit Scout Ch. 02

Chapter 2 -- Round Rock and the Wagon Train

The ride back to the Rider Ranch compound was smoother and shorter than the ride out of the badlands. But it did not seem that way to Stella. Her stomach throbbed from the blow from the Captain and the ride out of the badlands. She feared being sick while gagged and used all of the meditative techniques that she had learned from Medico Stevens to push down the feeling of nausea. As the nausea subsided, she felt grateful to the Troop Sergeant for the small kindness that he had shown.

They entered the compound at a walk, a change for which Stella was grateful. Boss Ralph Rider was waiting for them, and as they came to a halt before him, Stella was untied from the horse and stood before the Boss. She was thinking, "Now the real torture will begin."

"You used stealth to come into our compound at night. You were caught, and you caused harm to four of my people. But we stopped you from reporting back to your people. I can see from the way you dress that you are a Bucks Bandit. It is not my job to punish you. If the harm that you caused had been more permanent, that might be different. I have a holding cell for you tonight, and you will be fed. In the morning, you will be bound again, transported to Round Rock, and turned over to the Sheriff. I would expect that he will have you sent to Kennedy for disposition by the bunch of ragtags that call themselves the government. Do you have any questions?"

As he was waiting for an answer, he noticed that she was gagged.

"What idiot gagged this woman? Remove the gag immediately.

Lt. James's Troop Sergeant immediately came forward and removed the cleave gag and mouth stuffing.

Boss Rider said, "While you are at it, remove her leg bindings and escort her to our holding cell. Have the cook bring her something to eat."

Troop Sergeant Daley took out his knife and cut the ropes binding her ankles and knees. Taking her by the arm, he guided her to the nearby security building. Entering the front office, he told the Corporal of the Guard,

"Boss Rider has ordered that she be fed and made comfortable for the night. Give me the key to the cell, and I will return it to you when I leave. Order her supper from the cook."

Taking the key, he led Stella to the back of the building where the holding cell awaited. Before placing her in the cell, he said,

"I am sure that you need to use the restroom. I am also sure that you would have a hard time using it tied up as you are. And finally, from what you did the other night, I am sure that you could take me apart if you were untied. Will you behave if I free you?"

Stella answered, "You and Boss Rider are the only ones here who have shown me any kindness. I give you my pledge that I will not attack you."

"Alright," Sgt. Daley said. "No one has asked your name that I have heard. Would you tell me?"

"I am Stella Brooks, daughter of Chief Brooks of the Bucks. I appreciate your kindness."

With that, Sgt. Daley began untying Stella. He told her,

"Rope is expensive. I wanted to get you away from all of the troops as fast as I could and cut the rope, not taking the time to untie your legs. Now, there is not such a rush."

Stella thought for a moment and replied while smiling at the Sergeant, "As you untie the ropes from my chest, I am sure that you will have to brush against my tits. Will you enjoy that?"

"Of course I will, Stella. Would you rather I just untie your hands and elbows and leave you to work your way out of the chest bindings?"

"No, Sergeant. That would take a while, and I need to use the restroom. I think that you have earned that much freedom with my body. After all, you could retie my ankles, replace the gag, and have whatever way you wanted with me if you were that kind of person."

Smiling, Sgt. Daley answered as he reached for her breasts, "Then I will take this as a bright moment that I will cherish forever."

He kissed her cheek and began untying the knots.

After Stella had used the restroom, she walked with Sgt. Daley to the holding cell, still smiling at him as he locked the door behind her. He said before leaving,

"Your transport to Round Rock tomorrow will be rough, and I expect you will have tough times on the trip to Kennedy. Stay strong; I wish you the best and hope you will find a path to regain your freedom. I hope I will see you again someday. Goodbye."

-----

The next morning, it was barely the first light when armed guards came to her cell and woke her. The senior guard said,

"Make any use of the restroom that you need. It will be your last chance before you get to Round Rock. You have ten minutes to use the facility and eat your breakfast. Then we must tie you up for your transport."

As the guard unlocked her cell, she quickly used the restroom and then wolfed down the eggs and grits they had brought her. Then she turned to the guards and said,

"Look, I know that I don't have any choice in this, but I would like to make it as easy on myself as possible. What do you want me to do?"

The head guard answered, "If you cooperate, it will be easier on all of us. It is not our job to punish you. But our orders are to make you completely helpless for the trip to Round Rock. Will you cooperate?"

"Yes. Again, what do you want me to do?"

"Stand in the middle of the room and put your hands behind your back."

The guards first pulled her elbows closer together and cinched them. They wrapped loops around her wrists. This time, they were not crossed but were parallel to each other. Then, they skillfully tied a chest harness similar to the one she was tied with yesterday. Things weren't as tight, although Stella did not have any feeling that she would be able to escape from this tie until someone freed her.

"We can tie your legs in the wagon. Troop Sgt. Daley has everyone's respect around here. He has spoken well of you. You are an enemy and must be kept secure. But we will not do anything that we do not deem necessary. I just heard the wagon arrive. Come outside with us, and we will finish tying you in the wagon."

Stella walked in the middle of the guards out to the wagon. They lowered the back gate, helped her climb in, and told her to lie down on the floor of the wagon, where they then tied her knees and ankles.

"We wish you well, Stella," they said as they jumped down from the wagon and raised the rear gate."

"And I wish all of you well also," Stella told the guards as the wagon began to move.

Stella had not seen that the driver was none other than the trooper who had tied her so harshly the day before. After a few minutes, the wagon stopped, and the trooper climbed over the seat to the back and said,

"We have a short wait for the escort troops. While we wait, I will ensure you are properly bound for the trip. For your information, I am Private Sloan."

It was hard for Stella not to gasp when she saw who it was. Before she could say anything, he was stuffing rags in her mouth and looping a rope multiple times through her mouth and behind her neck. It was pulled tight, hurting the corners of her lips. The rags pressed down on her tongue, filled her cheeks, and kept her mouth open wide, as did the turns of rope. It was as effective a gag as it was uncomfortable. Soon, that would be a minor part of her discomfort.

Private Sloan then checked her bindings and allowed that they would be effective and did not need to be changed. But before Stella could breathe a sigh of relief, he added that he would do some things to make her a lot more uncomfortable. He took her arm and hip, turned her over onto her stomach, and forced her to bend her knees so that her feet were moved toward her hands. He doubled a piece of rope, threaded it between her calves, and then looped it around the top loops of the chest harness. He took the double ends and slipped them through the loop in the middle of the rope, forming a noose that he used to pull Stella's ankles past her hands, arching her back, and lifting her chest off of the wagon floor.

Satisfied, he tied off the rope and grabbed another short link that he used to tie her hands to her calves.

Stella thought, "I guess there are some here who don't hold Sgt. Daley in high regard."

"We are almost there now. One more step, and you will be secured for the trip."

With that, Sloan tied a rope to Stella's hair braid. He looped the other end of the rope around her ankle bonds and pulled her head back sharply, forcing her to face the front of the wagon.

"Now you are ready to travel to Round Rock. I would have given you a crotch rope, except I don't want you to have anything to enjoy. Here comes the escort, and so we are off."

By her nature, Stella was not a fearful person, and her extensive training had made her even less so. She realized that she was afraid. There was not anything she could do to help herself. Stella was thinking,

"I don't know how to endure this for the length of this trip. Except that I have no option except to endure. If I ever get home, I am going to suggest that the training of scouts should include a much healthier dose of bondage to help prepare any scout caught in a predicament like this. So much hurts. But I must not let that asshole private know. With this gag, I am not sure I could even get Sloan's attention. Certainly not anyone in the escort. Of course, Sloan would be delighted in any difficulty that I am having."

The trip seemed endless. Stella was sure that Sloan went out of his way to hit every hole and bump on the road. Each time that happened, the bottom of the wagon delivered a severe jar to her abdomen that translated to additional pulls by her already overly tight bonds.

She felt like crying for the first time in many years. But she steeled herself against it. She would not give Sloan the satisfaction. Finally, a degree of numbness set in, dulling the discomfort slightly. She would take what she could get.

-----

The wagon slowed to a walk and then came to a stop. The sergeant in charge of the escort rode up and looked in the back of the wagon. He said, "I wasn't expecting such a brutal tie as this. I thought Sgt. Daley had made some arrangements about that. Corporal Johnson, get her out of that hogtie and remove her gag. This treatment was entirely unnecessary."

Stella was on the edge of passing out. As the corporal began untying her, one step at a time, one of her aching muscles at a time found some relief. She thought of something that the Medico once told her, "What doesn't destroy me makes me stronger."

They had stopped in front of the Sheriff's office, and the Sergeant went inside to present Sheriff Crosby with a letter of explanation from Boss Rider. By the time Matt Crosby had read the letter and gone outside to the wagon, Stella's legs had been freed and the gag removed. The escort troops tried to stand her up, but her legs were too weakened from her ordeal to support her.

The Sheriff directed a couple of the escort troops to pick her up and carry her inside to a cell. A deputy was returning from making the rounds, and Sheriff Crosby told him to get their new prisoner some water.

"She looks dehydrated to me," Sheriff Crosby said.

The escort troops had laid Stella on the bunk bed in the cell. The deputy helped her sit up and held the mug with water to her lips while she eagerly took a few sips. Then he started removing the remaining ropes from her body.

As the Rider troops headed back to the ranch, Sheriff Crosby contemplated what he needed to do. The girl didn't look like she could hurt a fly at the moment. But Boss Rider's letter assured him that she was very dangerous. In a few days, a wagon train would be coming by and would more than double its size with beef from the ranch while at Round Rock. The wagon train's destination was Kennedy, and with luck, he could send the girl there on the wagon train.

The Sheriff spoke to Stella through the bars of the cell, "You have been through a rough patch. Rest and gather your strength. We will take care of you and not harm you as long as you do what we say. Is that a deal?"

Stella's voice was still hoarse from the gag, but she answered, "Yes, I can't handle anything else right now. I will do what you say."

-----

Carlos McTavrish, Wagon Master, was leading his wagon train into the small town of Round Rock in the late afternoon. He expected to add many more wagons and also to recruit some of the Rider Ranch hands to help guard the wagon train. Bandits were always a danger, and Wagon Masters seldom made a move without thinking carefully about how bandits could change things for the worse.

As he entered the town, passing by the Sheriff's office, Sheriff Crosby called to him, inviting him to join the Sheriff for dinner at the hotel that evening. That would be a significant improvement over campfire food, and Carlos readily accepted the offer. Later, he would wonder if that was a big mistake.

That evening at dinner, Matt said, "Carlos, I've got a big problem on my hands, and right now, you are the only one in sight who can solve it for me."

Carlos replied, "We have been friends for many years, Matt, and you know that I will help in any way that I can."

"That is good to hear," continued Matt. "You and Ralph Rider have also been friends for a long time. You and Ralph date back to your time at Unihold. My problem comes from Ralph."

"Why don't you tell me about it from the beginning," asked Carlos.

The Sheriff handed Carlos Ralph's letter and watched him read it. After he finished, he thought for a minute or so while Matt waited quietly.

Then Carlos spoke, "I am guessing that you want me to transport this spy to Kennedy. You know how difficult that will be. I don't have a prison wagon, and I don't have guards trained to handle prisoners. Furthermore, all indications in this letter suggest that she is a very dangerous fighter. How have you been controlling while she has been in your custody, and how has she behaved?"

Matt replied, "Carlos, she has not given us any trouble. Her name is Stella Brooks, by the way. She is the daughter of Chief Brooks of the Bucks. I thought I should pass that information on to you before you decide, as you will be passing somewhat close to the Bucks territory. It might affect your decision.

"Also, she has been given a rougher time than I think she deserved. While she was scouting the ranch, a squad of four found her. She took them out, but it appeared to me that she only used the force that was necessary for her to break free. Then she made a run for the badlands. Ralph sent Vince Riker's company after her, and they caught up with her a couple of hours ride into the badlands because of some shrewd guess by Vince. Lt. James caught up with her and took her to Vince. Vince punched her hard in the belly while she was standing before him, bound hand and foot. He had her gagged and took her to the ranch compound to see Ralph.

"Troop Sergeant Tom Daley, who you also know fairly well, did what he could to ease her plight while keeping her secure, but someone got to her, putting her into an extreme hogtie to be transported here. I have been talking to her for the past few days, waiting for you. She has been open about scouting for her father, Chief Brooks, and that she fought and defeated a squad of four to make her escape from the ranch. She said that it would have been easier just to kill them. The most serious injury was a broken arm. I think I see signs of the Unihold Martial Arts here. What about you?"

Carlos asked, "That could well be the case. How the hell am I supposed to keep the girl secure? I assume that you have some shackles you can loan? If she has extensive Unihold training, she could be playing nice until the right moment to make her break."

"Carlos, you know how rare any metal is. It's not that I wouldn't let you have shackles. It's that I don't have any. I don't see any alternative to using a rope to keep her tied up. You will be getting extra hands from Ralph that can help with this."

"I'm going to have to think on this overnight. The Rider Ranch wagons are expected to arrive in the morning. It will take most of the day to get them organized into my train. I will let you know my decision by noon. I would hope to hit the road right after first light the day after tomorrow."