Way of the Heron

The Way Of The Heron

By C. T. Creekmur

Chapter Two

Trail To False Pass

Author's warning: This story depicts men performing sexual acts upon one another that immature people might find shocking. If graphic depictions of sex between men upsets you, or if you are under 21 years of age, then DO NOT READ THIS! - go read something else!

Please understand that this is a work of fantasy and fiction, set in a time when safe sex was unheard of. It is not intended to provoke or promote promiscuity or abandonment of common sense where sex is concerned. Especially in this day and age.

Though historical personages are mentioned, none of the principal characters are based on real individuals and any similarity to such is coincidental. This story is copyrighted (c) by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author.

Historical Note: This story happens in late June of 1867. The action takes place in the town of False Pass, located on the far western edge of the heron men's lands, and along a trail connecting False Pass to the Pacific coast and the small harbor town of Port Bolon. The town of Douglas City lies along that trail between those two towns.

And now, on with the story!

TRAIL TO FALSE PASS...

Cyrus Orwins was drifting, away from his painful past and glad to be putting distance between it and himself...

...what he did not know was that he was also approaching something as well. Something he thought was just a dream, but was not. An ideal of male camaraderie, waiting for him on the...

TRAIL TO FALSE PASS

"Well, Pasteur, this is a bit of good luck!"

One could hear the pleasure in Cyrus Orwins' voice as he murmured softly to his palomino. He stroked the animal's tawny neck as he surveyed the welcome scene before him with satisfaction. His hour long detour from the dusty road he had been following towards Port Bolon had been well worth it. Cy had noted a barely used track that turned north where the road crossed a small stream, paralleling it. The track had eventually led to a heartwarming sight for a weary traveler like Cy.

The stream was partly blocked by a huge slab of moss covered granite, forming a wide pool of clear water that sparkled invitingly at the mounted man on that hot June day. A quick look around told Cy he was not the first one to have found the pleasant spot. A blackened firepit sat a little ways back from the water's edge. Despite that sign of human activity, Cy could tell no one had been there in some time. The grass had grown long and lush in the small clearing next to the firepit, just big enough for a man to spread out his blankets.

After seeing to his horse, Cy did just that, then stripped off his clothes, leaving them in a pile on the blanket. He waded into the tree shaded pool, finding a deep spot where he could dunk himself completely. He came up with his dark chestnut colored hair and beard soaked and dripping. Then Cy laid himself down in a sunny spot to relax and daydream.

He closed his eyes and tried to think about the future. But thoughts of the past intruded, like they always did. His mind filled with images of a certain cowboy. Cy's cock plumped up at once and the man began to slowly caress himself.

"Oh, Rudy... " he sighed softly as his fingers slid across his stiffening flesh. "I'll always love you... always... "

A faint rustling noise came to Cy's ears. His eyes snapped open and he sat up in alarm, cursing himself for leaving his guns too far away to be of any use to him. The backwoods of Oregon in 1867 were still inhabited by far more wolves, pumas and bears than people. And a lot of those people were unpredictable natives.

Cy glanced over at Pasteur. He was glad to see his trusty stallion was grazing quietly and relaxed a bit. Cy knew Pasteur was a smart horse who would have been giving his master manifold warnings of danger before now, if any were threatening. But Cy went back to his blanket anyway and picked up his rifle, intending to put it beside the pool where he could easily reach it, just in case.

"Hello, the camp!" came a voice.

Cy turned and saw another rider approaching, following the same trace Cy had. The newcomer was a muscular black man with wavy hair and a short full beard, mounted on an Appaloosa. The newcomer's eyes widened and he reined in his horse when he espied the dripping wet, naked man holding a rifle.

"Don't shoot, mister! I'm friendly! Honest!"

As he said that, Cy could not help but catch the hungry way the man's soft brown eyes swept over his nude body. Cy knew that look, and what it meant. He relaxed and let the butt of the gun rest on the ground, next to his bare feet.

"Sorry, I thought you were a bear!"

"You're the one here with a pelt!" the newcomer returned merrily with a winning smile that showed off his strong white teeth. Cy looked at himself and fluffed up the dark copper hairs that grew so plentifully across his chest and belly.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right there!"

"You mind if I share your camp?"

"No, not at all," Cy replied companionably as the man swung down from his horse, took off his hat and placed it on a convenient rock.

"My name's Nick Jones," he introduced himself, extending a hand.

"I'm Cy Orwins," Cy managed to equal the man's considerable grip as they shook.

"You got a good idea there, Cy," Nick began as he turned and began to unsaddle his mare. "That pool's a great place to be on a hot summer day like this."

"You've been here before?" asked Cy as he moved to get back into the pool.

"Yep. I stop here almost every time I travel this way. I was at Port Bolon, and now I'm on my way home." Nick patted his horse's rear, urging the mare to go off and graze along with Cy's horse, before he started pulling off his clothes.

"Where's home?" Cy queried as he waded back to the deep spot he had found earlier, leaned his rifle against a rock within arm's reach and sat down. All the while he enjoyed the show as Nick's clothing came off. He very much liked what he saw.

"False Pass. You know it?" Nick asked as he continued to strip off his clothes and lay them out on a convenient flat rock.

"No, can't say I do."

"Where're you from?"

"I was from Spring Hill. Now I'm just drifting. Maybe down to California. I guess I'll find out where I'm going when I get there."

"Hmm," was Nick's comment as he dropped his pants.

Cy felt his cock plumping up again as he spied Nick's thick, heavily hanging member. He seemed light skinned for a black man and definitely had more body hair than average. The man turned to dig in his saddlebags and Cy licked his lips involuntarily as he gazed at the firm globes of dark flesh that were turned towards him. Nick's horse snorted and the man reached to scratch behind one white ear.

"What's the matter, Splash? You go on and graze some while Cy and I wash up."

"Splash?"

"Yep. I call her that because of them spots all over her, like somebody splashed her with brown paint." Nick glanced at Cy's horse. "You got a beautiful horse there."

"Yeah, Pasteur's been the best horse I ever owned."

"Pasteur? What's that mean?"

"That's the name of a famous French doctor. I thought of calling him 'Aesculapius', after the god of healing, but he acted like he didn't like the idea!"

"Why those names?"

"I figured they were appropriate for a doctor's horse."

"You a doctor?" Nick asked, pausing in his search to look at Cy.

"Yeah."

"Huh! Never woulda figured that... Of course, it's always hard to tell what a nekkid fella does for a livin'!" he grinned as he dug back into the saddlebags.

"What're you looking for?"

"Soap. I know I got some... Ah ha!" Nick beamed as he produced a tan colored brick, wrapped in a scrap of cloth. Nick also picked up his rifle and placed it within easy reach before he waded into the hip deep water, dunked himself and started washing. "You want some?"

"Sure. I could use it," Cy said as he arose, took the proffered soap and lathered his chest.

Both men faced each other as they shared the soap. Their hands stroked lower and lower, until they were handling their genitals. They showed off their swiftly hardening equipment to one another, pulling back the foreskins to expose the sensitive knobs and soap them, making them grow even more. The skin of Nick's more-than-ample manhood looked like the color of chocolate to Cy, though he expected it would taste of rampant masculinity.

Nick was eyeing Cy's pink prong and the plum colored glans normally hidden by the long foreskin. Cy looked to Nick like he was used to being outdoors a lot. He was tanned and his body looked like it got plenty of exercise. As Nick gave his own lengthening cock a last pull, he tried to sound casual as he made a suggestion.

"Want me to get your back?"

"Alright."

Cy turned and Nick dutifully soaped and scrubbed Cy's broad back, fingering the hairs that grew plentifully across his shoulders. Cy was a little disappointed when Nick finished. Feeling Nick's hands on his backside and knowing his hard cock was mere inches from his ass had Cy imagining all sorts of exciting things.

"Here. let me get you."

Nick turned and Cy stroked the soap into the man's dark skin. A low growl of pleasure escaped Nick as the doctor's hands kneaded his back and slipped downward. Cy could not help caressing Nick's round, meaty behind lovingly when he reached it. A loud snorting noise suddenly distracted the men from themselves.

They looked in time to see Pasteur jump up and mount Splash. The big animals' coupling did not last long as the stallion snorted and bit the mare's neck. Splash whinnied and kicked at her rough suitor. Pasteur got off, withdrawing his long member which dangled impressively and dribbled excess horse seed all over the ground.

"They've got a good idea there," Nick chuckled as he leaned forward and put his hands on his knees.

"You willing?"

"C'mon, Doc," muttered Nick as he wiggled his ass lewdly and impatiently, "I saw the way you looked at me! And I liked what I saw too, so get busy!"

Cy did not need to be asked twice. He eagerly soaped Nick's wrinkled pink bull's-eye and his own stiff rod well before they met. Grabbing ahold of Nick's shoulders, Cy thrust into his companion and road him hard to a thundering climax that left Cy weak in the knees. Still panting, Cy lowered his head to give Nick's neck several kisses and playfully pretended to bite the man's shoulder for good measure before he withdrew.

"Just like your horse, huh?" Nick grinned as he stood up and faced Cy.

"Thanks, Nick," he managed. "It's been awhile since I've had the opportunity to do anything like that."

"I was happy to help you out, brother," he said as he took Cy's spent cock in his hands. Nick gently washed it again, peeling back the pale foreskin and squeezing the last few drops of white ooze out of the dark pink glans, causing Cy to shudder as his tool plumped up and began to rise again. "That's sure a nice lookin' pecker you got!"

"You have something I like too, Nick." Cy muttered as he hefted his companion's equipment out of the water. Though the velvety skinned shaft of it was not fully hard, the dark length still succeeded in filling both of Cy's hands. "I'm willing to return the favor."

Nick leaned forward and Cy realized what he wanted a split second before their beards meshed and their lips touched. He closed his eyes and let Nick's tongue find its way into his mouth. Cy was truly aroused by Nick, but he could not help imagining that it was Rudy he was kissing again...

"Let's dry off and lie down," suggested Nick as he drew back. "I'd sure like to hug and kiss your handsome self for awhile, Doc!"

Cy was not at all adverse to Nick's suggestion. Getting out of the pool, Nick went to his saddlebags and dug into them again. He pulled out two old flour sacks. Tossing one to Cy, the men began to dry themselves off.

Nick added his blanket to Cy's and the men laid down to caress and explore one another's bodies. After another long kiss, Nick found Cy to be fully hard again. He drew back and smiled.

"You been without for awhile, Cy?" he murmured.

"Yeah... "

"Well, you just lay back and lemme take care of you."

The quiet request was the prelude to a series of gentle touches. Leaving a trail of lingering kisses in his wake, Nick traveled down Cy's fuzzy torso to his crotch. He took the straining tip of the man's cock in his mouth and tongued back the foreskin. Cy hissed as his sensitive cockhead was subjected to a powerful suctioning. It was not long before Cy felt the churning down low in his groin that portended another orgasm.

"Oh, Nick... I'm gonna... again... Ahhhh... " Cy managed a few seconds before he shot his second load. Nick sucked the thick, liquid cockmusk all down expertly.

"Mmm, mmm!" he smiled after licking the spent cock clean. "Thanks, Doc. I always enjoy swallowin' down a man's hot juices, fresh from the source!"

"Where're you going?" Cy asked as Nick got up. The man's long, dark organ bobbed impudently before him as he headed for his saddlebags.

"I got some grease here that'll make it easier for you to 'return the favor'." He turned his head and winked. "As you can see, I've got me a pecker and a half hung on me, and the last thing I wanna do is hurt you!"

Nick produced a small leather pouch and came back to the blankets. His rampant manhood swung and lurched as he returned, as if Nick were following his ample pole to Cy's ass like a dowser follows his wand to water. Cy parted his thighs and Nick knelt between them.

"Some Indian friends of mine make this stuff. It's a good salve for wounds, but it's also good for playin' around!" he chuckled as he dipped his fingers into the bag and brought the gob of amber colored goo to Cy's puckered hole. Cy sucked in his breath as Nick's thick fingers began to push the lube inside him.

"It tingles... like peppermint oil... " gasped Cy.

"There's supposed to be some kinda herb juices mixed into the stuff," Nick muttered as he slicked his erection with the fulvous gel and positioned his cockhead at Cy's rear door. "You ready Doc?"

"Yeah... "

Nick started to push in slowly. Cy relaxed and willed himself open, relishing the unique pleasure of being filled by another man. Nick slid in all the way and after a few experimental strokes found a rhythm to his liking. Cy looked with desire upon the man who labored determinedly above him, but, involuntarily, Cy's head filled once again with images of Rudy, memories of the times the cowboy had been where Nick was, had held Cy in his strong arms and taken him in the same delicious way.

Cy's cock rose again. Nick smiled and started stroking it with his greasy hand, in time to his thrusts. Soon he had Cy on the edge again. Nick curled himself up, lowering his head to suck on the tip of Cy's prong as it spewed more sticky gouts of his manly essence.

"Oh God! Fuck me, Rudy!" Cy cried out heedlessly in his passion.

Nick wondered at the outburst, but had no intention of questioning Cy about it right then. Instead he addressed himself to his own pleasure, riding Cy's ass hard in pursuit of his climax. Cy's moans were answered by Nick's as he pounded his load deep into his new friend's innards.

"Oh, Lordy!" groaned Nick as he withdrew and flopped over on his back, next to Cy, almost in a swoon.

"I enjoyed it too, Nick," Cy breathed, turning to kiss him.

The men snuggled and lay embracing for a time. As the afterglow faded, Nick propped himself up on one elbow and stoked Cy's chest, alternatively ruffling and smoothing his dark chest fur. Cy was completely relaxed and content when Nick spoke.

"Cy?"

"Yeah, Nick?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Who's Rudy?"

Cy's relaxed mood popped like a punctured balloon. The startled doctor turned his head and looked at Nick with wide eyes.

"How do you know about Rudy?"

"You called out 'Rudy' when you came, while I was fuckin' you. Don't you remember?"

"Oh," Cy sighed. "I'm sorry, Nick. I didn't mean it. I do like you and everything we've done."

"I know," Nick breathed. "I could tell right off that you wasn't one of those kinda guys who get all upset when they see a black fella. And I'm glad you like to play, cause I see lotsa white guys who get my juices flowin', everyday, but most of 'em don't wanna touch a black pecker."

"Then they're idiots," Cy muttered, reaching down to stroke the soft length of Nick's quiescent cock.

"If you don't wanna talk about Rudy, I'll drop the subject."

"No, it's okay. Rudy and I were... real close... "

"I kinda figured that!" smiled Nick. Cy returned the smile wanly and went on.

"Rudy was a cowboy who worked on a ranch near Spring Hill, where I had my practice. It was love at first sight when we met. Rudy was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to me. For three years we did everything two men in love could do together. Then... "

Cy could not help himself. The old grief rose in him again and he began to cry. Overcoming his surprise, Nick pulled the man to him and hugged him protectively.

"Shhh... I'm sorry Cy, I didn't mean for you to have to dredge up bad memories."

"No," the man choked in reply after awhile, "it's... well, Rudy came down with a fever and died before I could be called. It broke me, Nick. I couldn't stay in Spring Hill, where everything reminded me of Rudy and how happy we'd been together. So I left."

"And now you're driftin'."

"Yeah," Cy sniffed.

"You wanna come with me, Cy?" Nick whispered as he tenderly held the man.

"Where'd you say you was headed?"

"False Pass. I help run a stable there. It's a smaller town than Spring Hill, but I think you'd like it. And we ain't got no doc."

"Sure, Nick," Cy began, regaining his composure, "I'll go with you and take a look."

"I'm glad, Cy. You won't regret it."

"Er, Nick, I'm not just lookin' for a new home, I hope to find another love like Rudy's... are you, ah, attached?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Cy, but I am."

"Oh."

Nick caught the look on Cy's face and went on.

"And don't worry about my pard findin' out about us. He likes to play around on the side as much as I do. We love each other like something fierce, but we don't rope one another down either."

"I understand. Rudy and I often shared ourselves with other men, but no matter how good it was, we still came back to each other. It didn't affect our love."

"Good. I'm glad you understand and that it won't put you off of comin' with me. I won't be the only fella in False Pass who'll enjoy havin' you around."

"What do you mean?"

"Most of the fellas there are like us," he winked.

"You're kidding me!"

"Nope, not at all."

"Damn! That sounds like those heron legends Rudy was always telling me!"

"You mean the heron men?" asked Nick in surprise.

"Yeah! You hear of them too?"

"Yeah. My pard likes to tell me the legends. I guess the bunch of guys who have settled in False Pass are sorta like them stories, men like us livin' and workin' and playin' together."

"Huh! This I've got to see for myself!" muttered Cy.

"We can get back on the trail now, if you wanna."

"You don't want to spend the night here?"

"As nice as that sounds, it's not a good idea," frowned Nick. "This place is okay for a daylight stopover, but I've seen signs of bear and puma here before and I don't wanna make myself an easy meal for 'em!"

"It's a good thing you came along, then. I was going to stay and roll up in my blankets and snore, right here!"

"You'd make a right tasty burrito of yourself that way for a bear, but I'd rather you saved yourself for the appetites of me and my friends in False Pass!"

"Maybe some of those spirits who were supposed to protect the heron men brought you here," joked Cy.

Nick did not respond, except to give Cy a thoughtful look before he got up and stretched. Cy arose too and hugged the man, running his hands freely over the hard, dark body, ruffling the ample growth of fleecy black hair that grew across his chest and down his belly. Nick sighed long and plaintively.

"It's too bad we've got to put our clothes back on. I like looking at your body as much as I do touching it, Nick."

"And I already told you I like hairy white guys," he smiled as he returned the caress, rubbing the fur on Cy's chest lovingly. Then a frown cast a shadow across Nick's face. "But the folks in Douglas City wouldn't stand for two nekkid fellers ridin' through their town, I'm afraid."

"Douglas City? Are we going there?"

"The trail to False Pass runs through it. I usually time my travels so I get there at night and leave early in the mornings. Most of the townfolk don't like my kind, so I keep my head low while passin' through."

"If they might cause you trouble, why stop there at all?"

"I have a friend there, a big ol' Swede blacksmith from Minnesota named Lars Ulfsson. He's one of us," Nick winked. "I usually stay in the loft of his shop when I pass through and we have us a good ol' time. I'm sure he'd like to meet you, Cy."

"Sure... Mmm... " Cy responded to another kiss from Nick.

"C'mon, brother, get your duds on and saddle up! We're burnin' daylight!"

The sun had disappeared about two hours before Nick led Cy into Douglas City, avoiding the main street. Cy could hear the gay music of a tinny piano from some saloon drifting on the warm evening air. The men rode slowly down a deserted alley, past a corral containing a few horses and a couple of droop eared mules, to the back of a building set next to it. A single oil lantern burned fitfully somewhere inside, shedding a dim light through the lone window that faced the alley.

"This is it," Nick quietly informed his companion as he swung off his horse, hitched Splash to a post and knocked gently on the door.

"Who is it?" someone asked in a gruff, masculine whisper.

"Lars? It's Nick."

"Nick?"

The lock clicked, the door opened and a big blonde bear of a man appeared to fill the open gap. He embraced Nick warmly and gave him a deep kiss. Despite the bad light, Cy thought the blacksmith's face looked worried. His next words confirmed it.

"Thank God you're here, Nick! I need help... "

"Huh, Lars, I've brought a friend with me... "

"Oh!" started Lars, releasing Nick and looking at Cy for the first time as Cy dismounted and tied Pasteur's reins to the same post Nick had used.

"I'm Cyrus Orwins," he smiled, extending a hand.

"I'm Lars Ulfsson." replied Lars as they shook.

"Glad to meet you," Cy nodded. Lars looked questioningly at Nick.

"Yeah, big guy," he smiled. "He's one of us. I thought mebbe we three could sleep together in the loft tonight and get better acquainted!"

"I'd like that, but I gotta tell you about something that happened here in town first... "

The sound of drunken laughter suddenly echoed from the main street. Lars' eyes went wide with alarm. He looked anxiously in the direction from which it came.

"Get in here!" he hissed.

"What's the matter?" asked Nick as Lars shut and locked the door behind his two visitors.

"A few Chinese showed up yesterday, lookin' for work, odd jobs, nothing permanent, 'cause they said they were just passin' through. But a couple of rabblerousers got the townsfolk all riled up about them. A mob attacked their camp outside town last night. Killed all but one... "

"Damn!" muttered Nick and Cy simultaneously.

Feelings ran high all along the Pacific coast against Chinese immigrants. Law after law had been passed to keep them out. But still they came, lured like all those who looked to America as a land of freedom, peace and plenty.

The 'failure' of the exclusionary laws had inevitably led to rabblerousing by bigots. They worked on the fears of ordinarily tolerant people, warning them that they would lose their livelihoods to 'cheap immigrant labor' and urging them to take matters into their own hands, rather than leaving it to the politicians, who had obviously been bribed by big businesses to wink at the influx, so the fat cats could keep their labor costs down. Violent race riots like the one Lars described were terribly common on the West Coast.

"I managed to save one boy from the mob, but he was pretty badly beaten, and I couldn't go to the doctor here in this town... "

"I'm a doctor," Cy spoke up at once. "Where's the boy?"

"Hidden up in the loft," replied Lars after a moment of surprise at hearing Cy's words. Cy's presence struck him as being almost like a miracle.

Cy went back to Pasteur and got his bag out of his saddlepack. As he climbed up into the loft with it, Lars and Nick put the horses away and saw to their needs. Then they joined Cy.

They found the doctor rubbing Nick's Indian salve into the scrapes and bruises that peppered the unconscious boy's body. Lars brought another lantern. Both men wanted to ask how the youth was, but waited until Cy finished. The doctor looked at them with hard eyes.

"What kind of bastards would beat a child like this?" he asked bitterly.

"How is he?"

"I'm pretty sure he'll live. There are no broken bones or signs of internal injuries. And no fever either, thank God. And his heartbeat's strong."

"Can he be moved?"

"Yeah, I suppose he could, if there was a good reason."

"There is. The men who killed the others are lookin' for him, to finish the job."

Cy swore under his breath.

"We'll take him to False Pass, tonight," volunteered Nick. "Is that okay with you, Doc?"

"Yeah, I'm sure he can make the journey alright."

"You oughta wait until just before dawn to go. that way you'll have less chance of runnin' into anyone. I'll bring some blankets so we can all sleep up here."

Nick nodded at Cy's patient as Lars disappeared down the ladder.

"You need help with him?"

"No, I've got it," Cy replied as he covered the boy up. "How old do you think he is?"

"About the same age as my little brother Alex, I'd say. Fifteen or thereabouts."

"He'll need a place to rest and recover in when we get to False Pass."

"That's no problem. I'll put him in Alex's bed and Alex can sleep in the hayloft of the stable." A sudden grin passed over Nick's face. "If you wanna, we can put you in the bed my pard and I share, so you can be close to the boy, just in case."

"Your partner really wouldn't mind?"

"No," Nick glanced at the ladder. "There's something I've decided I wanna tell you about my pard, but I'd rather wait until we were alone."

"Okay," Cy replied, wondering what Nick's confession would be.

The ladder creaked and Lars tossed some blankets over the edge before he hauled his brawny form up. The big man spread them out, then unbuttoned his shirt. His muscular, hard chest, fleeced with blonde hairs was exposed as he stripped off the garment.

"Shall we try to get some rest?" he suggested.

"Sure," Nick winked at Cy. "We'll try."

Intriguing noises filtered through the darkness that surrounded the young man. He lay still, remembering the angry mob who had attacked and beaten him and the others. Then there had been just one big man, who murmured softly and comfortingly to him as he carried the boy in his thick arms somewhere. The youth opened his eyes and saw that same blonde man close to where he lay.

The teenager's eyes widened when he saw what the man was doing. Two other men were coupling with him at the same time, one thrusting into his ass while the other, a dark skinned man, pushed his long, hard cock into the blonde man's bearded mouth. It was just what the youth had always dreamt of doing with other men, and as he tried to move, to ask if he could please join them, a sharp pain shuddered through his abused body, causing his mind to sink back into a deep well of unfeeling blackness...

Cy's sleep was attended by gorgeous dreams. He found himself walking naked across a sunwashed, high mountain meadow, wading through lush, waisthigh grass, spangled with wildflowers that showed every color of the rainbow. He never questioned how or why he was where he was, until he encountered a violet colored blanket spread out in the midst of the pleasant meadow. He stared in disbelief at the nude man who lay there upon it.

"Rudy?!"

"Hey pard," he returned easily. "I knew you'd get here, sooner or later."

"Where's 'here'?" Cy asked, looking around. He did not recognize any landmarks, so he looked at Rudy again, wondering what was happening as he knelt on the blanket beside his cowboy lover.

"This is the spirit realm, pard," Rudy smiled. "The place where the spirits of the heron men live. I live here too, now, and you can visit me in your dreams, like you are now."

"But that's just a legend... " Cy's voice faltered as Rudy reached over and caressed Cy's side. His hand was warm as it slipped down to rest on the doctor's thigh.

"You'll find out different real soon," Rudy breathed as he pulled Cy to him. They kissed, feeling all the old tender feelings rising in them as they did so. "I've missed you, pard," he murmured as the kiss ended.

"Not half as much as I have," vowed Cy as he moved between Rudy's legs. Their passion was a sudden, urgent thing, a hurried connection, frantic thrustings, a too-soon reaching of pleasure's peak, changing positions and doing it all again, played out under ebullient sunlight until both men were exhausted by the sharing of their bodies and dripping with sweat. In the sweet afterglow, Rudy pressed his lips against Cy's ear and whispered wearily.

"I love you, pard, so damn much... "

"Rudy," Cy half choked, "if this is the last time I'm ever going to see you, please tell me."

"We'll see each other again. pard, don't you worry about that. But there are other guys in the world too. Don't pass up any opportunities. I love you, and I want you to be happy."

"And I, as well."

Cy turned his head towards the new voice and was shocked by the sight of a huge bird, a heron it seemed, but one with eyes that were globes of violet flame, rotating and glowing as they gazed down at two human lovers. Cy could sense no danger, but the unexpected sight caused him to recoil, and he fell at once back into the black embrace of normal sleep until whispers woke him again.

"How soon 'til dawn?" Nick was asking.

Cy could not make out the answer Lars gave him.

"Good. We got time for some more fun then."

"What did you have in mind?" asked Lars.

"Yes, what?" yawned Cy, reaching out to hug the nearest body as he stretched. From the size of the arms that responded, Cy assumed he had ahold of Lars. Nick made some suggestions which the men acted on, bringing each other off one more time before they arose and got ready to smuggle the injured lad out of Douglas City.

When the morning sun at last peeped over the rugged mountains of the southern Cascades, it found Cy and Nick a comfortable distance to the east of Douglas City. The youth they were rescuing was seated in front of Cy, facing him, so he could rest his body against the doctor's. His head lay against Cy's shoulder. He was still unconscious, which worried Cy a little, but there were no signs of any other problems.

"How're you two doin'?" Nick asked, dropping back to ride beside them.

"I'm okay. I'm pretty sure the boy is too."

"We don't have too much further to go."

"Good. I'd like to get him into a warm bed."

"I'd like to do the same with you!" winked Nick.

"You sure think about having sex with me a lot!"

"You complainin'?"

"No, but your partner might."

"No he wouldn't. You remember what I mentioned last night?"

"You said you wanted to tell me something about your partner. But not in front of Lars. How come?"

"Well, it has to do with the heron men... "

"Oh?" Cy started, recalling of his dream. "Those legends?"

"They ain't just stories, Cy. The heron men really exist. They're also known as the Elxa."

"What?! How do you know that?"

"'Cause my pard, Felix, is one of 'em."

"He's an Indian?"

"No, his family's from southern California, old Spanish stock with a little Indian blood mixed in. Like a lotta guys like us, he left home when he realized he'd never be happy hidin' his true nature from the people who knew him best. When he first came up here to Oregon, he was wanderin' around and sorta stumbled onto the heron men's lands by accident, or so he thought. The heron men said he'd been guided to them and welcomed him into the tribe. You remember the salve we've been usin'?"

"Yeah." Cy sighed.

Cy could still feel a residual tingling deep in his ass, thanks to the tawny colored lube. Nick and Lars had both made love to him in the course of the night, and Cy was glad for the slick native grease. The blacksmith had hammered his rear end with a tool that rivalled Nick's for thickness, if not length. His reliving of that pleasurable ride was interrupted as Nick continued speaking.

"It's made by the heron men."

"Are you a member?"

"Not yet, but Felix asked them to consider lettin' me into the tribe too. He tells me he expects to hear from the big chief, Falling Star, any day now about it."

"If your lover's a member, why wouldn't they let you in too?"

"The way I understand it, you don't join the heron men like they were a social club or something. If you're like them, inside, then you already are a heron man, and they welcome you in."

"How would they know about that? I mean, what someone was like, inside?"

"Felix says there are spirits who help the heron men. They go everywhere and see everything, and report back to the leaders of the tribe."

"Huh!" Cy exclaimed, recalling some of the stories Rudy had told him, about the supernatural 'spirit helpers' that aided and protected the heron men. Then he wondered about something else. "Why couldn't you tell Lars about it?"

"There's a guy who runs things in Douglas City, a bad seed called 'Pete' Peterson. I wouldn't be surprised if he was behind the attack on those Chinese earlier. He's obsessed with the legend of the heron men... "

"Why is that?"

"He's like us," Nick frowned, "and yet not like us. The heron men call him a hyaena... He... How can I put it? He feels guilty about what he wants, so he hates guys like us who... who... "

"...can be what we are and enjoy it." Cy finished.

"Yes, that's it."

"I've known men like that," said Cy, shaking his head. "Sad, unhappy men who can't accept how nature fashioned them, and envious of those who can accept it and enjoy it. I can understand how the legends of the heron men would provoke a man like Pete."

"Anyway," Nick went on, "if Pete even thought Lars knew something about the heron men, well, he'd make Lars' life miserable, tryin' to get that information outta him, so it's better that Lars not know."

"I see. But why'd you tell me?"

"Why do you think? You'd make a fine heron man, Doc. I promise to put in a good word for you if I get in!"

"I had a dream about that last night, I think." Cy went on to tell Nick about his reunion with Rudy. Nick listened and nodded as Cy finished.

"You saw the Heron Spirit, the Elxa's great totem! You've had yourself what the heron men call a medicine dream, Doc."

Cy was about to ask more questions about the heron men when the boy lying against his chest moaned. He looked down at his patient. Nick watched in concern as Cy patted the boy's back gently.

"Don't be frightened," Cy soothed the boy. "You're safe. We won't hurt you."

"Mebbe he doesn't understand English," worried Nick.

"Damn! I never thought of that!"

"I... understand... " the boy managed.

"What's your name?" asked Nick.

"Hung Wei Lo... Or just Lo... Where are my companions?"

Nick looked helplessly at Cy, who rubbed Lo's back gently.

"They... didn't make it, Lo. I'm sorry... "

Lo pressed his face into Cy's shoulder. If he wept, it was done so softly that the watching men could not hear.

"I'm sorry about your family... "

"They weren't... one of them owned me... " he murmured against Cy's chest.

"You were a slave?" exclaimed Nick, as shocked as Cy was by that bit of news.

"There was a famine... My parents needed money... so they sold me... but my master, I Chu Wang, was kind, he took care of me, brought me to America... I have no one now... "

"Don't worry Lo, we'll take care of you," Nick reassured him.

"Where are you taking me?" he sniffed, looking up at the handsome dark man.

"To a town called False Pass. No one'll hurt you there, Lo, I'll see to it," affirmed Nick.

"We both will," Cy added.

"Thank you... I'll work hard to repay you... "

"Don't worry about that, you need to rest and heal up first," Cy told him.

"Yeah, you can stay with my little brother Alex until you're better."

"Alex... who are you?"

"Darn if I didn't plumb forget my manners! I'm Nick Jones and the guy who's holdin' onto you is Cy Orwins. He's the doctor who treated your wounds."

"I'm glad to mee... "

Lo's voice trailed off and his eyes closed. As his head fell back against Cy's shoulder, Nick looked at the doctor in alarm.

"Is he okay?"

"He's just gone back to sleep. Talking tires him. How much further to False Pass?"

"See the cabin and barn up ahead?"

"Yeah."

"They belong to Chris Barlow, our deputy sheriff. We ain't far now."

As Nick was speaking, they passed the cabin. It and an adjacent barn were built on a grassy knoll that overlooked a river whose waters were tinted a subtle green. The trail they had been following was on a ridge that paralleled the river, which Cy had learned was called the Umpqua.

Then the trail began to slope downwards. Rounding a bend, Cy saw another river joining the Umpqua and Nick told him it was called the Clearwater. They crossed it using a gravelly ford not far from the Clearwater's junction with the Umpqua. Cy looked around himself in mild surprise.

Nick had been right to call False Pass a small town. It could not have been otherwise, since there was only an insignificant patch of level land lying in the vee between the junction of the Umpqua and the Clearwater. The men slowed their horses down to a walk as they passed along the single street of the town and Cy was able to take in the handful of buildings that composed it in a glance.

Higher up, on the sides of the steep, forested hills all around, several cabins could be seen. Cy thought he saw signs of others, hidden by the trees. They seemed to be built wherever a level spot could have been dug or scraped out. Trails zig zagged from them down to the flat lying between the rivers.

A metallic clanging, Tang-ting... Tang-ting... suddenly started up somewhere nearby. Cy looked down the short main street and saw a blacksmith's shop set up just beyond a large barn. Even as he figured it was the stable Nick had mentioned, his companion reined in his horse.

"Here we are," said Nick.

Cy looked up to see 'Felix Amante, Propietario Establo' painted over the entrance to a big, open structure. Lifting Lo's limp form down to Nick, Cy followed his companion inside the neat little residence attached to the side of the stable away from the forge and watched as Nick laid Lo out on a bed in a back room. Cy knelt and checked the boy's injuries again as Nick went back out to take care of their horses.

When Nick returned he had his partner with him. Cy took one look at the handsome, dark haired and bearded Hispanic man and found himself hoping Nick could talk Felix into sharing their bed with Cy. Predictably though, Felix's mind was on anything but sex at the moment, as he was thoroughly appalled by the story Nick had told him, about the recent violence in Douglas City. He looked at Lo in concern.

"Madre de Dios! Those heartless scum!" he muttered, bending over the lad. Then he looked at Cy. "Will the boy be alright, doctor sir?" he asked respectfully.

"Yes, I think so. And call me Cy," he urged, offering his hand. Felix took it and shook vigorously.

"You must be tired after your long ride, Cy. Go over to the saloon and tell Matt the bartender to give you a drink on me."

"Hey! I had a long ride too!" exclaimed Nick.

"Yes, and screwed every willing ass between here and Port Bolon as you went!" Felix replied in mock annoyance.

"I thought about you every time I did, pard... " Nick murmured sexily as he moved to nibble on Felix's ear. Felix deftly eluded his lover, shaking his head.

"Save your sweet talk for later and take our guest over to the saloon!" Seeing Cy's questioning look, Felix went on. "You'll stay with us while Lo's recovering. I won't take no for an answer!"

"And I won't argue," Cy smiled before glancing at Lo. "Just let Lo rest for now. If he's hungry when he wakes up, give him some soup, or something light."

"Alright," Felix nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot, pard... "

Felix pulled Nick aside and whispered something to him. A wide grin spread itself across Nick's face. He looked at Cy.

"You don't have to keep secrets from Cy, I told him about the heron men, 'cause I think he's like us."

"Oh!" Felix looked at Cy. "I hope you're not as loose lipped as my pard here. The heron men would rather most people go on thinking they are just an obscure Indian myth."

"I can understand why," responded Cy. "I won't say anything."

"Good. What I was telling my pard was that the chief shaman, Falling Star, sent him an invitation to join the tribe."

"That's great! Congratulations, Nick!"

"Thanks, but it means I'll have to go visit Falling Star for awhile, undergo an initiation... "

"Sounds fun!" smiled Cy.

"It's not what you think, Cy," Felix warned. "The heron men aren't always having sex!"

"No," laughed Nick. "Just most of the time! Anyway," he went on, becoming more serious, "I oughta leave soon, tomorrow morning, mebbe." Nick paused and looked from Cy to Felix and back again, putting a hand on each of their shoulders before speaking again. "Cy, will you take care of my pard for me while I'm gone and make sure he doesn't get lonely?"

"If Felix is willing, sure."

"Oh, I'm willing," Felix winked. "And we have tonight to all be together."

"You sure? Wouldn't you two rather be alone? If Nick's going to be gone for awhile... "

Felix put a hand on Cy's arm.

"We heron men believe love is meant to be shared. Be with us tonight, Cy, and share our joy."

"Alright," he nodded, moved by Felix's invitation.

"I look forward to it," Felix murmured as he kissed Cy gently, a promise of more to come later.

"Now that's the heron guy I remember fallin' in love with!" Nick grinned, getting a kiss for himself before he led Cy from the room.

Leaving the stable, the men crossed the narrow street to the saloon. Cy paused to note the name painted over the doorway. 'The Trail's End'.

Nick pushed through the batwing doors and Cy followed. The Trail's End looked like an average saloon to Cy. But remembering what Nick had told him, Cy carefully scanned the men inside, wondering how many were "that way" like he, Nick and Felix were.

Cy noted an older man with impressive arms and traces of red in his long white hair and beard. He looked to be sixty or so and was sharing a drink with a thirty something man whose thick arms, face and red hair suggested they were father and son. Another man who passed their table said hello, addressing the elder as Jakob and the other as Jack. The pair returned the greeting and invited the man, who they called George, to join them. As George sat down, Nick's voice pulled Cy's attention back to the bar.

"Hey, Matt! Give me and my friend here a couple of beers. We just got in and our throats are as dry as the trail!"

"Sure, Nick," Matt complied, bringing two frothy mugs to the thirsty pair. "It's good to see you again. Who's your friend?"

"Cy, this is Matt Able, he runs the saloon. Matt, this is Cy Orwins."

"Glad to meet you, Matt," Cy said.

"Likewise, Cy. You stayin' in town awhile?"

Nick looked around and beckoned Matt closer. They fell into a whispered conversation. Cy figured Nick was telling Matt the short version of how they met and the news about Lo.

A door behind the bar opened just then and two men came out. One man was big and brawny, black haired and bearded. His companion was another redhead, shorter, lithe and wiry. The Mutt and Jeff pair looked to be around forty years old. Both had damp hair and smelled of soap. They turned to address someone Cy could not see.

"Thanks for the bath, Alex," said the big man.

"No problem, Rob," a happy sounding voice answered.

"Our pardners, Tomas and Mike, will be comin' by later to get theirs."

"Okay, Shane. See you later, guys." As the clean men left the bar, the person Shane and Rob had spoken to, a dark skinned youth, came into view, took a look at Cy and spoke again. "Hey, mister."

"Yes?" Cy noted the boy was about Lo's age and resembled Nick too much not to be the little brother Nick had mentioned.

"Would you like a bath?"

"Can you get a bath here?"

"Sure. We've got a room set up in the back with a tub and plenty of hot water."

"That sounds good. Are you Alex Jones?"

"How'd you know my name?"

"Your brother Nick told me about you," Cy explained, hooking a thumb at Nick, who was still whispering to Matt.

"Oh, he did, huh?"

"Yeah," nodded Cy. "Maybe after I finish my beer... "

"You take your time, mister. I can be ready when you are."

"Okay, Alex. By the way, my name's Cy."

"Glad to meet you, Cy. See you later."

Alex winked and ducked back through the door. It seemed to lead into the saloon's kitchen. Cy caught a glimpse of another black haired young man, who looked to be in his late teens, stirring a steaming pot set on a wood stove. Then he felt Nick touch his shoulder.

"Yes, Nick?"

Cy found Matt wanted to ask him a few questions about his trip with Nick. He answered the bartender without showing the growing puzzlement he felt. When Matt was done and moved away to see to his other customers, Cy turned to Nick.

"Is Matt the sheriff here too? It sure felt like I was being questioned by a lawman."

"No, but he is sorta the mayor here."

"'Sorta'?"

"Well, when we, I mean the guys who live here, talked about it, we all sorta figured that since Matt runs the only saloon in town, he was in a position to know everything that happens around here, and let the rest know if there's any problems we need to deal with. So we dubbed him mayor. We figured there wasn't no need to waste time on an election."

"Huh! He must inspire a lot of trust."

"He does. And he's a heron man, too."

"Oh?" Cy looked at Matt again. Nick chuckled.

"He doesn't have any mark of it on him, if you're wonderin'."

"Would he mind if I asked him about it?"

"No, but you could ask Felix too, you know."

"Oh, I almost forgot he was a heron man too," Cy muttered as he finished his beer. "Well, I got a date with a bath. Will I see you back here or at the stable?"

"Do you mind if I tag along? I could use a bath too."

"Sure," smiled Cy. "I'd like to wash your back again!"

"Oh, we can both relax and let Alex do that."

"Does he do more than draw the bathwater?"

"A lot more," winked Nick as he put his empty mug down next to Cy's.

Nick showed Cy to another door in the back of the saloon. A flight of stairs led up to some rooms over the saloon, which Matt rented out. Under the staircase was another door that led into the bathhouse.

Alex was in the process of feeding wood into a small boiler when the men walked in. Cy eyed the system of pipes. Nick explained that the hot water rose up into the elevated tank while the cooler water sank down to the fire, so as long as the fire was kept up, they had hot water on demand.

Cy noticed two other doors. Nick explained that one led to the kitchen. The other led to a sauna.

"A what?"

"It's sorta like a steambath. Old Jakob, our blacksmith set it up. He came here from Russia a long time ago. He says everyone there uses them. It's a pretty popular place here too, especially in the wintertime."

"Oh?" Cy remembered the man he had seen earlier who was called Jakob. He assumed that was same man Nick mentioned. It also explained his impressive arms, no doubt gained from years of labor at his forge.

"Yeah," Nick grinned. "We sit in there and get all hot and sweaty until we can't stand it no more, then we run outside and roll around in the snow!"

"And scream their fool heads off while they do! I think the heat drives 'em crazy to go jump in the snow like that! Matt always says 'it takes a strong heart and a weak mind' to do it!"

As Alex added his two cents worth, he opened the tap and let steaming water flow into a wooden tub. Cy noted with a smile that the tub was ample enough for two men. Alex looked from Cy to his big brother.

"Are you gonna need me, or will you two gentlemen be wantin' your privacy?" Alex asked sarcastically.

"I want my money's worth!" chuckled Nick as he began to pull off his clothes. "Stay and scrub both our backs!"

"What other services do you offer, Alex?" asked Cy boldly as he stripped and hung his clothes on some pegs, next to Nick's. "Your brother said... "

"I can imagine what he said!" Alex shot an annoyed glance at Nick who was doing a wonderfully good impersonation of innocence on a pedestal as he took a bar of soap and stepped into the tub. Alex's eyes came back to Cy and hungrily took in his hairy body. "I scrub backs and whatever else you'd like, help dry you off, and I can give you a rubdown, if you want. I can even give a pretty good shave or haircut, though there ain't much demand for that. Most of the guys around here like to cultivate their beards and hair."

"Sounds like you got lots of talents, Alex," Cy commented as he got into the tub as well, facing Nick. "How much does it cost us to see them all?"

"Well, Matt gets a dime for providin' the hot water, clean towels and privacy. Any tips I get I split with him."

"Here, Cy," Nick handed his friend the soap after he had lathered up his chest. "Okay, Alex, let's get on with the back scrubbin'."

Alex quickly lost his clothes. Cy immediately saw even more of a resemblance between the brothers as Alex's semihard dong, bigger than most boys his age sported, waggled heavily as he moved behind Nick. Alex winked mischievously at Cy as he picked up another bar of soap and a scrub brush before starting work on Nick's back.

"Hey! Use your hands, not that brush! You'll scrub the skin offa me!"

"Okay," the youth snickered, failing to sound contrite.

Alex started stroking his brother's back with his hands. The physical contact soon had Alex's sex fully rigid as his soapy hands roamed across Nick's muscular body. His long cock brushed and slid against Nick's wet skin as he moved, provoking similar erections from the men.

"Okay," Alex said after he had lathered Nick thoroughly, "now it's Cy's turn."

Cy leaned forwards so Alex could get all of his back, from his shoulders down to the crack of his ass. Being bent forward like that brought Nick's long manhood within reach and Cy started sucking on the tip as Nick ran a soapy hand up and down its length. Alex's fingers slipped into Cy's buttocks and fingered the man's hot hole.

Soon Cy was on his hands and knees in the tub, sucking on Nick's tool while Alex got in the water too and thrust his dick into Cy's well soaped asshole. The brothers managed to come within seconds of each other, filling Cy from both ends. Nick then rolled an unresisting Cy over so he could recline against Nick's hard chest. His untouched cock waved up in the air.

"Okay, Alex, do your stuff!"

Cy soon was enjoying an expert blowjob. Nick turned the doctor's head so he could kiss Cy while pinching his nipples, driving his friend towards and over the edge. Cy moaned loudly into Nick's mouth through their joined lips as he shot off, feeding Alex a hot, creamy load of his sticky manmusk.

About a half an hour later, Nick and Cy reentered the saloon, clean and feeling quite sated after a second bout of three way sex with Alex. As they were each enjoying another beer, Alex came in, after getting the bathhouse in readiness for his next customer. Matt looked expectantly at Alex.

"You collect their money?"

Alex put two dimes on the bar.

"What about my half of the tip?"

"Cy tipped me a dime."

Alex dutifully placed another nickel on the bar as he spoke. He did not mention that Cy had left another quarter in the tub for Alex to 'find'. After all, as Cy had said, no one could reasonably expect Alex to share his good fortune with Matt as well.

"What about Nick's tip? I get half of that too."

"You wish you'd gotten half of what I gave Alex!" Nick laughed as he squeezed his member suggestively, showing off the ample length that dangled down one pantleg.

"Humph!" was Matt's reply to that, as he went back to cleaning glasses and wiping down his bar. Seeing Cy's wonderment, Alex beckoned and quietly explained.

"Matt and Nick have a friendly rivalry goin', 'cause they're both big men where it counts!" he winked.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Matt has a nickname everybody knows, but almost no one uses it to his face: 'Eight Dollar Jack'."

"What's that mean?"

"It's a sorta game," Alex grinned. "The fellas line silver dollars up on a table and see who can sweep the most off onto the floor with their hard peckers!"

"So... Matt can do eight?"

"That's what Ralph says."

"Who's Ralph?"

"Oh that's right, you haven't met him yet. He's Matt's pard."

"Oh."

"Anyway, Nick wants to have a 'showdown' with Matt and find out once and for all which one of them is the bigger man, but Matt won't agree to it. But Nick still tries."

"Hey, Alex," a voice called. Cy and Alex both looked to see the young man Cy had glimpsed earlier in the kitchen.

"That's Ralph," Alex informed Cy before stepping behind the bar to see what Ralph wanted.

"Well," sighed Cy to Nick after he drained his mug, "I think I'll go back to the stable and check on Lo. Then maybe I'll take a walk around the town."

"That'll take all of five minutes!" smiled Matt.

"I'll see you later," Nick winked as Cy left. Alex followed him out of the saloon.

"You mind if I tag along?"

"No, not at all," Cy answered as he headed for Nick and Felix's house. The hammering from the forge was still going on and Cy noticed another thick armed, handsome redhead chatting with a black haired man at the door of the shop. Cy supposed that the blacksmith, the 'Old Jakob' Nick had described, had a few sons. And it looked to Cy as if Jakob had done a fine job in begetting them. He turned his attention back to his young companion. "Do you like living here in False Pass, Alex?"

"The guys here are nice to me, but sometimes I wish I had someone my own age to be friends with. I'm the only boy in town."

"I think I can fix that," grinned Cy as they entered the house.

"Hey, that's my room you're goin' into!" Alex's objection was stilled when he saw a youth his age sleeping in his bed. "Who's he?" whispered Alex.

Cy gave Alex an abbreviated version of how Lo came to be in his bed as he turned down the covers and examined the youth's bruised body again. Alex looked over Cy's shoulder silently as Cy worked. When Cy was done, he covered Lo and turned to Alex, who looked worried.

"Is he gonna be alright?"

"I'm pretty sure he will be," Cy smiled, patting Alex's shoulder reassuringly. "And when Lo's feeling better, he'll need a friend."

"Friend, hell! We're gonna be brothers, if Nick said what you told me, that Lo's gonna live here! C'mon, let's go to the new general store. I wanna buy Lo some candy to give him when he wakes up!"

"Let me rest a minute, Alex," Cy said after he closed the door on the room where Lo was resting and went to sit at the kitchen table. "Could I get some water?"

"Sure," answered Alex as he went to work the handpump set up beside the kitchen sink.

"Thanks, Alex." Cy drank half the cup before he spoke again. "Do you mind if I asked how you and your brother ended up here in False Pass?"

"No, of course not. I guess you've noticed me and my brother don't look like most other black guys."

"Nick's body is pretty hairy and I like it that way!" Cy admitted through a smile.

"That's 'cause we're quadroons. Our momma was the half-sister and personal maid of a southern lady. They both had the same daddy, who was as hairy as a bear accordin' to our momma. When the lady married Mr. Rhett Jones, who was also a really furry guy, our momma went with her, to continue serving her, and her new master made love to both his wife and our momma... "

"Why?"

"Momma used to tell us it was just what was expected of her. Whenever her sister was sick or pregnant, she had to satisfy the master's needs. And she used to tell us she was afraid what might happen to her if she refused to let Rhett have his way with her. She might have been sold into something worse, a brothel maybe. Nick told me there were lots of whorehouses in New Orleans stocked with slave men and women both, all forced to have sex with anyone who could pay the price.

"Or momma might have been put to work as a field hand. For someone raised to be a house slave, that was looked on as a fate worse than death, and our momma always told us to behave and obey our white brothers. If we were lucky, we'd become their personal servants, like our momma was to her sister, so we could have as easy a life as it was possible to have, for a slave."

As he listened to Alex, Cy felt glad that slavery had been abolished. Then he remembered what Lo had told him and Nick. And he recalled the lurid tales he had heard of 'white slavers' who operated in large cities, capturing hapless females and selling them into the thralldom of Turkish hedonists who were proverbially desirous of white women. Would mankind ever be rid of the scourge of slavery?

"Anyway," Alex went on, pulling Cy's attention back to him, "Rhett had sons by both women, and he treated us all fair. He also owned a shippin' business and he sent one of his white sons, Bo, out west to see if he could extend the family business there."

"When was this?"

"1860. Bo was like us. Him and Nick were almost the same age and had grown up together, screwin' each other's brains out as often as they could, once they learned how!" Alex grinned. "Bo always treated us like real brothers, like equals. Bo's father let him take Nick and me along with him, to help Bo out. After we got to California, Bo freed us and found a lawyer to draw up papers to make it official. He said he had to do that, 'cause there had been a big court case that said there were no such things as 'free states' or 'slave states' anymore, that slavery was legal everywhere in the United States... "

"The Dred Scott decision," Cy interjected. "Many people believe it precipitated the civil war. But go on with your story, Alex."

"Well, after that, we worked with Bo and helped him run his shippin' business. He paid us just like his other employees, but we stayed 'cause we loved him. Everything was goin' fine, until the war broke out."

"What happened then?"

"We were passin' through Port Bolon when the news about the war was published. We wanted to get back to San Francisco as fast as we could, but Bo was arrested as an enemy of the government. Nick tried to protest against it, but he was treated no better than if he was back in Louisiana. We might have been free, but we had none of the rights free white people had. Bo spent the war in a military prison, his ships seized for government business. Hell, he woulda given the government those ships if they'd asked. He was no secessionist!"

"What did you and Nick do after that?"

"Nick and I were left to shift for ourselves. Those folks in Port Bolon might have been anti-slavery, but they sure weren't happy about havin' Nick and me around. We could've gone back to San Francisco, but Nick wanted to stay as close to Bo as possible, and so did I. In the fall of 1861 we were just gettin' by doin' odd jobs we found here and there, livin' in a shack we built outside town, when we met up with a couple of men who befriended us, Felix and a trapper called Big Otter.

"At the time we thought it was a piece of good luck, but later, once we found out they were heron men and learned more about the tribe, we were told their chief... "

"Falling Star?" interrupted Cy, thinking of what Nick and Felix had shared with him earlier about the heron men.

"At that time, the head heron shaman was named Ikukua," Alex informed the doctor. "Anyways, they told us Ikukua had seen our troubles in his medicine visions and sent his brothers to help us. Nick and Felix took a shine to one another right away, and soon they were in love. Felix invited us to come to False Pass and help him run his stable."

"What happened to Bo?"

"He stayed with us a little while after he was released, when the war was over. His ships and business were gone and he had nowhere else to go. He got on so well with Felix that with Nick the three of them were considered a team. But he was worried about his family. We pleaded with him to stay with us, but he wanted to go home and see if there was anything left of his family or their branch of the shippin' business. We've gotten one letter since, sayin' things were awful in Louisiana and that he'd soon be back, but that's all."

Cy thought he better understood Felix and Nick's openness after hearing Alex's story. Missing Bo, they might be longing for another man to recreate their triad. Cy wondered what that would be like as he muttered a response.

"I hope your brother's alright."

"Me too."

"So, Bo and Nick were still lovers, after Bo freed Nick?"

"Sure. We loved each other like brothers, 'cause we were brothers," Alex explained. "But when Felix came along... Wham! Love at first sight! Nick was so lovesick, I hate to think of what woulda happened if Felix hadn't loved him back!"

"And Bo was okay with that?"

"Sure. Bo was glad Felix looked after us while he was locked up. And he and Felix became real close after Bo joined us here."

Cy nodded and drained his cup. "So, there's a new general store here in False Pass?"

"Yeah, and we're all glad for it. We had to go all the way to Cedar Flat or Port Bolon for our supplies before."

"I guess no one here wants to go shopping in Douglas City."

"Not the way those crazy bastards there carry on! You saw what they did to Lo! They'd do the same to me or Nick or even Felix if they had the chance!"

"Yeah," agreed Cy grimly. He got up and stretched. Alex came over and hugged him.

"I'm glad you're here," Alex murmured as Cy hugged him back. "I liked what we did earlier... I hope we can do it again, sometime."

"How does Nick feel about you making love to older men?"

"He doesn't mind. We know no one here is gonna hurt me. Besides, everyone here in False Pass is older than me to start with! I like to play around sometimes with old Jakob next door."

"The blacksmith?"

"Yeah, but now his four sons run the forge and do most of the work. Jakob knows lotsa stories, probably 'cause he's been a heron man for so long. I hope Lo will like him too."

"Huh! Jakob was married, and he was a heron man?"

"Oh yeah," Alex smiled. "It's sorta a long story. He was the sorta guy who liked both men and women, and he had a heron man friend who was the same way, or so I understand. When that friend died, Jakob married his wife so they could raise her three boys. Eventually they had another son of their own, and all four boys turned out to be like us!"

"And they run the forge now?"

"Yeah. Their momma died a few years back, so it's just them, takin' care of their daddy now."

"Sounds like you take care of Jakob too, in your own way."

"No more so than his own sons do!" laughed Alex. "Jakob's a big ol' hairy Russian bear, and I love to snuggle with him as much as they do!"

"Jakob sounds like someone I'd like to meet. Shall we go take a look at the new store?"

"Okay."

Cy caught sight of Felix in the stable as he and Alex left the residence. Felix was in the process of putting aside a pitchfork and pulling off his shirt, which he used to mop the sweat off his face and upper body. Cy paused to admire the man.

Where Nick was thickly muscular, Felix had more of a classical sort of masculine beauty, a feline grace that showed as his muscles slid beneath his dark tan skin as he moved. His body was covered in a light dusting of black hairs. The ones on his chest looked like a pattern of lace.

Cy noticed the man was wearing a pendant that hung suspended between his large, brown nipples. It appeared to be a round, flat stone engraved with a sinuously curling glyph that looked like a stylized bird's head. Cy was surprised when he recognized it. Rudy had once drawn that sign for Cy during a story he was telling, saying it was the symbol of the heron men. Alex chuckled at Cy's distraction, thinking it was because of something else.

"Felix sure is a good lookin' fella!"

"Yes, he is," smiled Cy. "I want to have a word with him about Lo, Alex, then we can go." Cy approached Felix and he smiled at Cy.

"Hello, Cy."

"Hello, Felix. I just looked in on Lo. He's still asleep. I'm going over to the new general store with Alex," Cy said, hooking a thumb at his young companion.

"Hey, Alex," called Felix.

"Yeah?" he asked, coming nearer.

"I'm gonna need a bath later. Will you be available?"

"Sure. I just wanted to buy some candy for Lo."

"I'm glad. I was hoping you and Lo would be friends."

"I'm hopin' we'll be brothers!" beamed Alex. "C'mon, Cy."

Bidding Felix farewell, Cy followed Alex down the short main street. A new building, its posts and walls gleaming with the sheen of unweathered wood, stood at the point where the street narrowed and became an apparently well used track that disappeared into the woods along the north bank of the Clearwater. Cy followed it with his eyes, away to the east, and wondered what lay in that direction.

"That's the trail that leads to the heron men's lands," Alex volunteered, pausing when he noticed where Cy was looking. "A place they call the valley of the heron."

"How far is it?"

"Felix says two days. Four to get to where the big chief, Falling Star lives. That's if you're hiking. I suppose the trip would be a lot faster on horseback."

"You've never been there?"

"No," he replied ruefully. "I keep askin' them to take me, and they keep sayin' I'm not ready. Mebbe when Lo's all healed up, we could sneak away and see it together."

"Alex, I wouldn't try it," Cy warned. "The wilderness is no place for a couple of young boys. What would you do if a bear came into your camp while you two were... asleep?"

Cy had almost said 'making love' but changed it at the last moment. Alex was impatient with his advice, like all boys his age.

"Aww! You're like all the other adults! And I ain't a young boy! Could a young boy do what I did to you earlier?"

"Okay, I'll admit you're getting to be a man, Alex, but men don't go wandering off into the woods without letting the people who love them know where they're going."

Alex pouted and continued on. Turning his attention back to the new general store, Cy caught the sound of someone sawing wood. It seemed the building was not quite finished. He looked up at the three stories speculatively.

With flat lots in short supply, the tendency in False Pass was to build upwards. The owners of the store either wanted lots of storage space or intended to rent rooms. Cy decided to ask if the latter was what they planned, as he would need space to live and work in if he decided to stay in the town.

"Hi, Dusty!" Alex chirped as he entered the store.

"Lemme guess. More candy?" a young blonde haired and bearded man grinned from behind the makeshift counter. It was just two wide planks supported by a barrel at each end.

"Yep!" Alex answered as he went to a row of glass jars on a shelf and eyed their contents. He took a paper bag and started filling it with a scoop, taking a little from each container.

"Who's your new friend?"

"I'm Cy Orwins," Cy introduced himself.

"Glad to meet you. I'm Dusty Laird."

"How long have you been open for business?"

"Only a week. My pardner Woody is supposed to be back anytime now from Port Bolon with more merchandise. Lemme know if you don't see what you need, it might be on order."

"Actually, I was wondering what plans you had for the upper floors. Will you be renting rooms?"

"Yes, on the top floor, but we're not sure when they'll be done. My pardner and I will be living on the second floor and that's still being built as we speak!" As if to emphasize Dusty's point, a loud noise sounded from above, as if a heavy object had been dropped. "You need a place to stay, Cy?"

Dusty's eyes seemed to beckon to Cy, who noted Dusty's interest and smiled to himself. His stay in False Pass, it seemed, would not be without diversions. He opened his mouth to reply, but Alex beat him to it.

"Cy's stayin' with us so he can look after Lo."

"Who's Lo?"

"My new brother!" Alex launched into the story and his version of it seemed to make Cy into a veritable white knight, rescuing helpless boys. Cy had to interrupt the youth.

"Your brother helped Lo just as much as I did, you know!"

"He couldn't have fixed Lo's wounds! Nick's no doctor like you are!"

"You're a doctor?" asked Dusty. when Cy nodded, the shopkeeper went on. "Are you gonna stay in False Pass?"

"Sure he is!" Alex replied confidently. "Nick likes him and Felix is champin' at the bit to get his hands on him!"

"What?" asked Cy.

"Sure!" Alex returned. "Felix doesn't take a bath everyday! When he asked me about it earlier, I knew right away that he wanted to be clean for you when he gets you in bed with Nick tonight!"

"Be that as it may," blushed Cy, "I'd only planned on staying as long as Lo needs me... "

"Listen Cy," Dusty began earnestly, "this community needs a doctor. I'm willin' to let you set up the top floor of the store as a office if you'll stay."

"That's very generous, Dusty, but shouldn't you talk it over with your partner first?"

"I'm sure Woody will say the same thing, once he hears about you... "

The door opened and Dusty fell silent as he and Cy turned to face the person who had entered the store. He was a ruggedly handsome man, tall and lean, with chestnut hair, a ruddy moustache and a stubble beard. His blue eyes swept the store and zeroed in on Cy.

"Dr. Cyrus Orwins?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm Robert Vaughn, the town sheriff. You might remember me. We met a couple years back."

"Oh yes! You're Holy Irons! I remember now. All that business with the murderer, Morgan, back in Spring Hill." Part of the surprise in Cy's voice was from wondering if the famous gunslinger shared his nature.

"Yes, well, I just heard about you from Nick and Matt and I wanted to get reacquainted," he said, extending a hand. "I'd also like to ask if you'll be stayin'. We could sure use a doctor around here."

"We were just discussin' that possibility," Dusty said.

"Well, Matt told me to tell you that we can build you an office, maybe someplace big enough for a couple of patient beds, for you to practice your trade, if that will keep you here."

"Gosh darn it, sheriff!" a new voice interrupted. "I ain't finished this job yet and you're already plannin' the next one for me? Don't I get a say?"

The group turned to see a man descending a stairway. Cy assumed he was the carpenter who had built the store. When Cy got a better look at the man, he caught his breath.

The carpenter was short and stocky, the muscles of his arms and thighs straining against his clothes as he moved closer. His tousled hair was a dirty blonde, while his chin whiskers and the tufts of chest hair that poked from the open top of his shirt were a light shade of golden brown, like the color of ripe wheat. For a few seconds, Cy was lost in admiration. He thought the man was drop dead gorgeous.

"Now, Russ... " the sheriff began...

"Humph! I know that tone! What kind of 'civic duty' am I supposed to donate my time and labor to now?"

"Russ Seton, this is Dr. Cyrus Orwins... "

"Call me Cy," he said, adding 'please!' mentally as he shook hands with Russ.

The carpenter seemed to quiet down as soon as he got a good look at the doctor. Cy hoped fervently that Russ was feeling the same things Cy was. Sheriff Vaughn went on.

"The doctor's gonna need an office and a place for patients... "

"You want me to build you a whole danged hospital?" exclaimed Russ, letting go of Cy's hand.

"No!" both Robert and Cy said simultaneously. Everyone looked at Cy as he went on. "I'm staying with Nick and Felix for the time being. There's no rush. Besides, I'd have to give a new office some thought, how I'd want it set up... "

"So you're gonna stay?" Dusty asked.

"I'm beginning to wonder if any of you would let me leave if I wanted to!" snorted Cy.

"You drop by the saloon later, Doc," Robert smiled. "We'll have a few drinks and I'll introduce you to everybody."

"Hey, how about some service over here!" Alex grinned.

Dusty weighed the bag and took Alex's money. Robert made more very pleased sounding noises, welcoming Cy to the little community. Russ stood by, quietly studying Cy in what the doctor hoped was interest motivated by a desire to get to know him better.

'Cy,' he thought to himself, 'you just might have found yourself a new home... and maybe a whole lot more... '

THE END

of Trail To False Pass

the 2nd chapter in the series

'The Way Of The Heron'

by C. T. Creekmur

comments or suggestions are welcome at tcreekmur@hotmail.com

Copyright (c) 2009 by Charles T. Creekmur

"All Rights Reserved"

submitted to www.nifty.org 1/16/2009

*author needs a place to live *Feb. 09 - on, contact me for details