The Last Good Day

by John L. Lansdale

  “Yes ma’am.” They walked back in the eatery.

  “You got a name I can pronounce, Indian?” the marshal asked, looking at B.W.

  “Black Wind. B.W. for short. Make it easy for you.”

  “You don’t talk like an Indian,” the marshal said.

  “Educated,” Rance said.

  “And who might you be, wise-ass ?”

  “Rance Allison, sir.”

  “Where do you boys know Miss Julie from?”

  “I grew up here,” Rance said. “We owned a farm the Yankees stole.”

  “You don’t say,” the marshal said. “May be more to this than murder, then. Take Mr. Allison and this educated Indian to the jail, boys.”

  Five minutes later, B.W. and Rance were looking out the jail window, another prisoner in the next cell had his hat pulled over his face ,sleeping in the bunk.

  “Knew somethin’ was wrong with sleepin’ in a bed,” B.W. said. “Every time I do something bad happens.”

  “You just sleepin’ in the wrong beds,” Rance said.

  A booming voice from the next cell yelled out. “They gonna hang you!” The man in the cell pulled his hat off his face and sat up.

  “Well, it’s No-Neck,” Rance said. “You gettin’ paid to lie?”

  “Name’s Lester Crayton,” he said.

  “Well Lester, you know B.W. had to kill him,” Rance said.

  “It was self-defense,” B.W. said. “He was goin’ to shoot both of us.”

  “I know that,” Lester said. “But do you think anyone in Whiskey Gulch is goin’ to remember it that way? They would kill me if I said that.”

  “Would think so, you’re probably right but we’ll make sure we figure out how to kill you before they hang us.” B.W. said.

  They heard the door rattle to the cell room and a big ornery-looking brute, almost as big as B.W., with thick blonde hair walked in with an ivory-handled Colt on his belt.

  “Name’s Charlie Caldwell, deputy marshal. If you’re expectin’ lunch, forget it,” he said. “We feed you two meals a day - breakfast and dinner from Jake’s Eatery. There’s a water bucket by your cell with a dipper. If you have to go to the outhouse, run the dipper on the bars. Has to be one at a time.”

  “All the comforts of home,” Rance said.

  “You won’t be so cute when your feet are kickin’ air.”

  “What about me?” No-Neck said. “I’m not a prisoner, I’m a witness.”

  “You’re in the jail. Same applies to you.” He walked out and they heard the lock turn on the cell door.

  “Did you see that gun he was wearing?” B.W. asked.

  “A Colt,” Rance said.

  “Was one of those new double-action French Colts. You don’t have to cock it. That’s what you need.”

  “Don’t think he’s goin’ to sell or give it to me.”

  “No, but we might relieve him of it,” B.W. said.

  “Well when you figure out how, let me know.”

  “I’ll do that,” B.W. said as he stared out the window at the hanging gallows at the end of the street.

  In the eatery, Julie sat Tommy down and brought him a glass of milk and sat down with him.

  “How old are you?” she asked.

  “Twelve.”

  “Okay, young man. I know you’ve been ridin’ with Rance and B.W. Tell me the truth. What’s going on? Did they murder anyone?”

  “Not exactly. B.W. and the major stopped at Whiskey Gulch to get a bath and a whore and everything went wrong.”

  “To get a what?” she said, her big blue eyes batting like a flying bird.

  “A bath and a whore.”

  Julie shook her head. “You sure you’re twelve years old?”

  “Yes ma’am. I followed B.W. to the saloon and was watchin’ through the window. Some men was holdin’ the major, makin’ him drink whiskey. One of them pulled a gun and B.W. killed him with his tomahawk and I ran back to the stable and saddled their hoses. B.W. knew I didn’t have any folks and asked me to come with them. I have to get them out of jail. There’s some other things might come up we ran into after that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Don’t want to talk about it right now,” Tommy said. “Will you help me get them out of jail?”

  “I got to live here,” she said. “Don’t have any other place to go.”

  “You could go with us,” Tommy said.

  “Don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said. “But maybe If I give you my papa’s gun we might can surprise them. The deputy will let me in when I take them their supper. They know I have to keep you in tow so you can come in with me. Usually there’s only one deputy. Hold the gun on the deputy, I’ll tell them you stole it. Tell him to open their cell and you’ll be long gone before anyone else knows what happened, and then I won’t have to leave town.”

  “I knew you was a smart lady,” Tommy said.

  “I hope so, for everybody’s sake,” she said. “I feed the prisoners about five in the evening. I’ll get the gun.”

  B.W. and Rance were stretched out on their bunks when they heard the lock turn. The marshal walked in the cell, put his hand on the butt of his Colt and looked at them, and they sat up on the bunks.

  “Had a farmer bring in three bodies,” he said. “Looks like they was blown away and pecked on by some buzzards. Too much of a mess to tell who they were or what they looked like. Sent ‘em to the undertaker. That your doin’ too?”

  B.W. and Rance looked at each other then back to the marshal. “Got nothing to say,” B.W. said.

  “Well, don’t really matter,” the marshal said. “Can’t hang you twice. Thought you might want to clear your consciences.”

  “Hang ‘em for that and let me outta here,” No-Neck said from the next cell.

  “This one’s easier with you as a witness,” the marshal said and walked out the door and the lock snapped.

  “Told you we should have buried them,” Rance said. B.W. shook his head and laid down.

  At five o’clock, Julie and Tommy were ready to put their plan into action. Julie placed the food in a basket and Tommy stuck the Navy Colt in the back of his pants and covered it with his shirt. They headed for the jail.

  Julie knocked on the jail door.

  “Who is it?” the deputy asked.

  “Brought the prisoner’s supper.”

  The door opened. Julie and Tommy walked in and Charlie closed the door.

  “Sit the basket on the desk,” Charlie said. “I’ll give it to them.”

  Julie sat the basket on the desk and Tommy drew the Colt. “Don’t move,” he said.

  The deputy looked at Tommy and laughed. “What do you think you’re doin’ boy? Give me that gun ‘fore I take it away from you and spank your butt.”

  The deputy eased his hand toward the Colt on his belt.

  “Don’t do it, mister. I may not be very big but I don’t have to be with this. I’ll shoot you.” He cocked the Colt.

  “Miss Julie, get the keys and open their cell,” Tommy said.

  Julie picked up the keys from the desk, unlocked the cell room door and walked up to their cell.

  “What you doin’ here?” Rance asked.

  “I was bringin’ your supper and Tommy pulled a gun.” She winked at Rance and handed him the cell keys.

  “Let me out, too,” No-Neck said.

  “You’re on your own,” Rance said.

  Rance unlocked their cell and they moved out to the front office. The deputy was standing behind his desk, hands up, Tommy holding the gun on him. Rance laid the keys on the desk, lifted the deputy’s gun from his holster, eyed the gun and smiled.

  “Take off the belt and hand it to me,” Rance said.

  The deputy took off the belt and handed it to him. He laid the Colt on the desk, swung the belt around his waist with his right hand, held it next to his side with his left arm, ran the belt through the buckle with his right and tightened it, picked up the Colt and pointed it at the deputy.r />
  B.W. picked up the keys, shoved the deputy through the cell room door, locked him in the cell, closed the door, locked it and pitched the keys on the desk.

  “You’re somethin’ else, boy,” B.W. said and patted Tommy on the head.

  “We better get out of here fast,” Tommy said and stuck the gun in his pants.

  “What do we do ‘bout you, Julie?” Rance asked.

  “Nothin,’” Julie said. “I’ll be fine. Me and Tommy had a plan, he can tell you ‘bout it later. If you’re ever back this way, I’ll be here.” She planted a big kiss on Rance’s lips.

  “Why don’t you go to Texas with us?” Rance asked.

  Julie shook her head no. “Not now. I have something to tell you but this isn’t the time.”

  “Tell me,” Rance said.

  “Later,” she said. “I’ll find you. Go now.”

  “I got the horses behind the jail,” Tommy said.

  B.W. collected his guns and tomahawk, stopped at the door and looked at Julie. “Thanks, Miss Julie.”

  She smiled and nodded.

  “Thanks from me too,” Tommy said.

  Rance hugged her neck with his good arm.

  “You’ll get a letter later to tell you where I am if you need me. May be a different name but it will be me.”

  “Go,” she said and they darted out the door and ran to their horses. They mounted and spurred their horses out into the street. Two bystanders across the street were staring at them as they rode out of town.

  “That’s the prisoners,” one of them said. “I’ll go get the marshal, you check on the deputy.”

  10

  A man wearing a straw hat, overalls and clod hoppers, with a tobacco sack string hanging out of his chest pocket ran into the saloon out of breath and stopped at a table where Marshal Preston was playing poker.

  “Marshal,” he said, trying to catch his breath, “got something to tell you.”

  “Can’t you see I’m busy, Floyd?”

  “It’s important, the prisoners escaped. I saw them high-tailing it out of town.”

  “Holy shit!” The marshal threw the cards on the table, stood up and picked up his money. “I had a winning hand.”

  He charged out of the saloon and hurried to the jail. Julie was coming out the jail door.

  “What you doin’ in there?” he asked Julie.

  “Brought the prisoner’s supper.”

  “Was that before or after they escaped?”

  “Before. Charlie told me to go home.”

  “Come back in with me,” he said and they walked back in the jail. Charlie and another man named Luke Sewell, was in the jail with Charlie. He had a floppy felt hat on his head a fat face and a bulging waist line. Much like Charlie.

  “What happened, Charlie?” the marshal asked.

  “That boy pulled a gun and they locked me in a cell and escaped. Luke here let me out.”

  “You let a kid bully you in to a jail break?”

  “He ain’t no ordinary kid. He would have shot me! Said to not let the other fellow out.”

  “You see which way they went?” the marshal asked Luke.

  “Saw ‘em heading south ‘fore I came to the jail,” Luke said.

  “We better get after them, marshal,” Charlie said.

  “We’re not goin’ to catch them in the dark with a head start on us. Miss Julie, you have anything to do with this?”

  “You told me to keep an eye on the boy. He stole my gun and forced Charlie to let them out.”

  “That’s what happened,” Charlie said.

  “Looks like you didn’t keep a very good eye on him,” the marshal said.

  “Afraid not,” she said.

  “Allison have any kin here?”

  “Not anymore. Yankees killed them all.”

  “I heard one of them say somethin’ ‘bout Texas,” Charlie said. “Couldn’t make out much from where I was but he I know he said Texas.”

  “That where they goin’, Julie?” the marshal asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  ”You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

  “Told you, I don’t know. The boy had a gun.”

  “This doesn’t sound like something a kid cooked up by himself.”

  “I wouldn’t know. Can I go now?”

  “For now,” he said. “I may want to talk to you again.”

  She nodded and walked out the door.

  “Charlie, round up the other deputies and get that tracker,” the marshal said. “I intend to find them no matter how long it takes. Never had a prisoner get away and I’m not going to this time, especially one set free by a kid. Anyone don’t think they’re up to it can find another job. Get going.”

  “Yes sir.” Charlie opened the door and was gone.

  The marshal unlocked the cell room door and walked up to No-Neck’s cell.

  “You don’t need me anymore, let me out of here,” No-Neck said.

  “Was there any conversation between Allison and Miss Julie?” Preston asked.

  “He just asked what she was doing here, that was it. Allison looked surprised to see her.”

  ”I’m goin’ to let you out but you better be where I can find you when I need you,” the marshal said and unlocked the cell.

  “Yes sir, I will,” No-Neck said and ran out the door.

  Preston walked back to the front office, unlocked the gun cabinet and took the rifles and shotguns out and leaned them on the desk. He loaded a double-barrel, spun the cylinder on his .44 to see if it was fully loaded, lifted his right pants leg up and checked the Arkansas tooth pick inside his right boot and put his pants leg back down over the boot.

  The door opened and a Union Army colonel walked in with an arrogant strut. His blonde hair to his shoulders, his deep-set blue eyes gave the illusion he was always staring.

  “Hear your prisoners got away,” he said.

  “Not for long. I’m goin’ to get ‘em back.”

  “Don’t think that’s a good idea. Need you here. Put out a telegram to all law enforcement, let someone else catch them.”

  “Colonel Hatch, I ain’t ever had a prisoner escape and it ain’t goin’ to be now. When folks find out it was engineered by a kid I’ll be the laughing stock of the country. If I don’t bring ‘em back, I could never marshal anywhere again.”

  “Not what I’ve been ordered to do,” Colonel Hatch said. “The government wants a civilian face on things here, keep the troops in the background. You keep playing the role of marshal. Of course, everyone knows who’s running things.”

  “You don’t give theses people much credit for any smarts, Colonel. They’re not going to put up with you much longer.” Preston reached up to the marshal’s badge on his shirt and pulled it off and handed it to the colonel. “Get you another flunky. I’m going to defend my reputation. I’ll take this shotgun as a bonus. Luke, tell Charlie to forget the posse, they’re on their own.”

  “You can’t just walk out,” Colonel Hatch said.

  “Watch me,” Preston said.

  “I’ll have you arrested.”

  “I wouldn’t do that, colonel, you don’t want to get acquainted with this shotgun.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “Not unless you try to stop me.” Preston walked out, leaving Colonel Hatch standing in the jail alone and walked up to the eatery.

  There was a CLOSED sign on the door. He banged on the door until Julie opened it.

  “What you want?” she asked, wrapping her housecoat tighter around her waist. “You got me out of bed.”

  Preston stepped in the doorway.

  “I just quit, gave Hatch my badge. But I’m still going after Allison and the Indian. I need to know where they’re headed.”

  “I told you, I don’t know.”

  “You’re lyin’ to me,” Preston said.

  “I don’t have to answer you. You’re not the marshal anymore.”

  The kitchen door swung open and Fannie came in carrying
a small boy with wavy black hair and black eyes. “Everything okay, Julie?” she asked.

  “Boy’s a dead ringer for Allison, with those eyes,” Preston said. “That his kid?”

  A tear rolled down Julie’s cheek.

  A slight grin crossed his face and he looked at the boy. “He don’t know ‘bout the kid, does he?”

  “Fannie, take Mitchell back to bed,” Julie said.

  Fannie nodded and disappeared through the kitchen door.

  “Leave me alone. I don’t know where Rance is and I wouldn’t tell you if I did.”

  “Charlie said he heard him say they were going to Texas. I’ll find him and I’ll make sure I tell him he’s got a kid he don’t know about.”

  “Please, don’t.”

  “Then it is his kid?”

  “Go away!” She started pushing him out of the door.

  “I’ll find him,” he said and stepped back out on the street.

  Julie locked the door and sat down on a chair and began to sob.

  11

  It was long into the night when Rance pulled up Buck and motioned for B.W. and Tommy to stop and they rode up beside him.

  “Think they’ll come after us?” Tommy asked.

  “You can count on it,” Rance said. “The man’s a professional or they wouldn’t have hired him. If he lets us get away his marshaling days are over. He’s going to keep comin’ for us.”

  “You think he would chase us all the way to Texas?”

  “Depends on how bad he wants us,” B.W. said. “He’s a federal marshal, he has the authority to follow us anywhere. Guess we’ll have to kill him if he does.”

  “Hope not,” Rance said. “Think we’re a ways ahead. Might stop for a while, rest the horses.”

  “I got some biscuits Miss Julie gave me,” Tommy said.

  “I do love those biscuits,” B.W. said. “I’m goin’ to have to get better acquainted with Miss Fannie.”

  They dismounted, Tommy got the biscuits and B.W. got a whiskey bottle out of Tommy’s saddle bags.

  “Don’t say nothin,’ Major. I need a drink.”

  B.W. sat down, took a bite of biscuit and a swig of whiskey.

  Rance and Tommy looked at each other and shook their shoulders like they had a chill.

  “How can you do that?” Rance asked B.W.