by Tony Roberts
The proprietor swallowed. These two looked mean. “Well, uh, Mister. If that’s true, then I guess you got the right to know Duggan and his men are heading for Eagle’s Rest, his house in the Bighorn Mountains. It overlooks the trail, but they have picked up a few more men on the route. They numbered seven last time I counted.”
They thanked the man and rode on. Seven. Seems like Duggan senior had given his boy a little extra protection. Riding north the weather got colder and harder, and eventually they had to stop and seek shelter. Snow fell in huge drifts and they had no option but to find a place to ride it out.
There was a small farm a couple of miles back so they turned and got to the house before they had frozen to death, and were welcomed by the farmer and his family. The two men spent the evening in front of the fire, thawing out. A bowl of hot soup and a coffee and they were halfway to being human.
“You folks jus’ about saved our lives,” Cooper thanked them. “It’s whiter than hell out there.”
“Thought hell was an inferno,” the farmer’s wife said in disapproval.
“The Vikings’ was a frozen hell,” Casey said. “They ought to know; they lived in these conditions much of the time.”
“Well, we ain’t Vikings,” the woman snapped. “We’re good Christian people.”
“And Abe and I are thankful you are,” Casey nodded. He wondered how these people would view the laws of hospitality the old Northmen had practiced. He bent his head and inhaled the coffee aroma in appreciation. When he’d been Holder of Helsfjord, anyone was welcome to shelter from the elements, and none of them had been ‘Christian’. Still, perceptions were hard to change when one had been brought up to believe not being a Christian was evil.
Three children served up the food and drink. The boy was about nine, the younger girl twelve and the eldest perhaps sixteen or seventeen. They were soberly dressed and didn’t speak unless they were spoken to. Casey was served by the eldest girl who smiled at him. He smiled back. The mother spotted it. “That’s enough, Lisa. Go make sure there’s enough firewood for tonight.”
“Yes, mother,” she answered obediently and left, but cast a look over her shoulder at Casey. Cooper was being attended by the other two, probably at the insistence of Lisa beforehand.
“She’s not old enough to know of the world and the dangers it holds, Mr. Long,” the mother said. “I would appreciate you not to bother her.”
“Of course not,” Casey said. “I’m mindful of the hospitality you’ve shown us and that your daughter is an innocent.” He wasn’t sure she was that innocent; that last look had told so much. Still, he didn’t want to upset the farmer or, especially, his fiery wife.
The farmer had said little throughout the entire evening, and Casey guessed he normally had little chance to do so. They had makeshift beds down on the floor made for them, so Cooper had the area next to the fire and Casey a little distance away. The family turned in for the night and the two men settled down for a night’s sleep.
It was no more than half an hour later that a creaking floorboard brought Casey to full awareness. Someone was creeping towards him. Lisa. It had to be, that shape, build and size. The fire illuminated half of her face as she knelt by his side and put a finger to his mouth. There was no need to say anything. She slipped under his blankets and unfastened his pants. She was not hanging about. She soon got his attention and interest and he soon discovered that, as he suspected, she was no virgin.
She panted into his ear, getting herself pretty worked up as she moved, then had to put the edge of the blanket into her mouth to muffle her sounds of pleasure. She got to her peak repeatedly and Casey guessed she must be one of those who had discovered sex was a delight and enjoyed it so much she needed it time and time again. Whatever, she finally sank onto his chest once he had satisfied his needs, and they held one another for a while, before she levered herself off and put her mouth to his ear. “Thank you. I hope you get stuck here for weeks.”
Funnily enough, so did he. For the moment chasing Clint Duggan could go to hell.
As it turned out the storm lasted two days and when it had passed the snow was so deep it was impossible to find the trail or even to risk the horses in such an environment. Since they were at a farm the horses had fodder, and the two men readily agreed to help around the place, shovelling snow away and repairing some things and doing other jobs that had mounted up for the poor farmer.
Lisa made Casey’s stay memorable. She was insatiable, and it was as he had guessed; she was addicted to sex. She wanted it every day, and managed to get in company with him throughout the days from time to time, maybe by bringing him a drink, or some snack, or wood, or some chore. Cooper gave Casey an old-fashioned look to which Casey shrugged as if to say, what the hell? Sometimes they had a sneaky quickie, other times long enough for both to be satisfied.
Casey was fascinated as to her back story and one day was repairing a broken fence with the farmer, Jack, so he spoke to him of the three children. He was only interested in Lisa, so when they got around to discussing her he asked whether she was betrothed or not. Jack sighed. “She’s been courted by a couple of guys in the past. Trouble is, they got into a fight and one killed t’other, and so he’s in jail. Lisa was proper cut up ‘bout it all. Loved both and couldn’t decide which one to say yes to, so now one’s dead and the other is likely to hang. They got him in Fort Laramie. Probably hang him come the spring when the snows melt.”
Casey guessed Lisa had kept both on tenterhooks by sleeping with one, then the other. Trouble was neither man was prepared to tolerate the other’s presence and it had ended predictably.
He sought her out the next day and broached the subject of the jailed man. “Oh, I’ve asked for a pardon,” she said wistfully, “but mother isn’t interested. Says a murderer is a murderer and deserves to hang.”
“And I suppose she wouldn’t like you with him.”
Lisa agreed. “I’ve resigned myself that he’s going to hang, although it hurts. I know you probably think little of me being with you these times but I can’t help myself. I need a man and if Gerry is in jail, then I’ve got to find another. I’ll tell you, Casey, before you turned up I was going quietly crazy.”
“You really need it that bad?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “I had both guys on the go and it was so difficult keeping each one a secret from the other. You must think I’m such a sinful woman.”
“Nothing like a bit of sin to make you smile,” Casey grinned. “If God punishes sinners, then I’m damned to eternity in hell. Not that I care a damn.”
Lisa giggled. “I like you. You’re fun. Living here is becoming intolerable. I’m going to have to find somewhere to live before long. Want to take me away and settle down some other place? I don’t care where it is. You’re a man, you satisfy me.”
Christ, Casey thought to himself, this girl is really angling to couple up big time. “I’m on a man hunt, Lisa, dangerous. We’re as likely to be shot as get who we’re after. And I’m a fair few years older than you. You’d be best with someone younger, and someone who is looking to settle down. I’m a wanderer, a man for hire, a gunslinger. I spend half my time in the open, the other half drinking or,” he paused and then tried to imitate a preacher he’d heard a little while back. “Fornicating with women of ill repute.”
Lisa tossed her luxurious red hair. “I don’t care about that. A bad boy, are you? That interests me even more. I would hate to live with a pious man; mother’s enough to put you off religion forever. Bible readings every night, praising God or Jesus at every opportunity. Ooh, it makes me so frustrated!”
“Jesus might be tired of this constant praise, too,” Casey muttered. From his memories, Jesus hadn’t been the type to want that. He’d been a man trying to rouse the Jews against the rule of the Romans, using religion as a catalyst. Trouble was, he’d fallen foul of the Jewish faith, or to be more accurate, the priests. They’d persuaded Pilate to pass the death sentence quoting Roman pacificat
ion policy. Pilate had really no choice but to go ahead. Nobody in the squad Casey had belonged to thought the man was bad in any way, but orders were orders. He’d seemed a decent enough man.
“If he is then please do something to stop it!” Lisa complained.
“Oh, no doubt he would if he could,” Casey said, his lips twisting in distaste. Jesus had certainly been pissed off enough to curse Casey to immortal life.
“God, I’m bored. Casey, I want it again.”
Casey grinned. The winter was going to be a memorable one.
CHAPTER TEN
The spring of 1873 came slowly. Casey and Cooper prepared themselves to leave. Time to get after Clint was ripe. Casey was contented. The couple of months there had sated his immediate need for a woman, and Lisa had been satisfied plenty of times, too. Whether anyone suspected was a moot point. Cooper certainly knew. His sleep had been interrupted plenty of times by Lisa’s enthusiastic love making, and her wild and muffled climaxes. She was insatiable, and she begged Casey to come back to her once taking care of his ‘business’ was done. Casey promised to return. What the hell, he thought, might as well, if the girl was begging to be taken away. She cared little for her parents and their religious fixation. Someone someday would take her off their hands, anyway.
The family thanked them. Not for some time had so much been repaired, fixed, made or cleaned up. The place looked almost as good as new. The two men decided the exchange of a warm bed, a place to ride out the winter and food for hard work a reasonable one.
Lisa stood by the end of the fencing that ran along the trail. “I’ll wait until the end of the Summer,” she said. “If you’re not back by then, I guess something would have stopped you from coming back.”
“If I can I’ll be back before then.”
Lisa smiled and turned away, swaying her hips. Cooper shook his head as they rode off along the trail. “Asking for trouble there if you want my advice, stealing that cute little girl from mummy and daddy. You’ll be asking for a shotgun in the guts.”
“She’s going to go off with someone sooner or later,” Casey replied with a shrug. “One day some guy will take her away to another life, and the way she’s talking, it’ll be a life of sin. Think she’s kicking against her mother’s restrictions. Happens sometimes. She’s got a wild heart, and I’m thinking she’s listened to tales of the outside world from visitors and wants to see it.”
“And you think you’re the one for her? I’m going to say this straight; you’re a killer. I can tell. You’ve got cold eyes. You’re no stranger to death; it coats you. That girl wouldn’t be suited to that kind of life.”
“You’d think so, yes,” Casey agreed, “but how can you be so sure? I’ve known some women who’ve been just as adept at killing as a man, so don’t ever underestimate a woman. They’re just as able to kill as any man.” He thought of Katie Parnell for a moment, the pirate woman with a straight-forward attitude and manner of delivering conversation. He missed her. She’d be dead about a hundred years now, and wondered what kind of life she had found for herself after she had left him after their brief liaison in the Caribbean.
“That sweet little kid? Don’t be dumb. She’s innocent, and she’s got this stupid naïve impression of the outside world. The first ruthless bastard that gets his hands on her will be the end of her. She’ll end up beaten into submission, dead or as a prostitute in one of the big cities somewhere.”
“Then all the more reason for me to get my hands on her first, don’t you think?”
“Shit,” Cooper halted. Casey did likewise. “Don’t you get what I’m trying to tell you, Long? She’s not for the likes of you; you’re not the type for a life of domestic bliss, so you’ll drag her about the country from one killing to another, or you’ll leave her lonely and sad in what she hoped would be her dream home. Leave her alone.”
Casey regarded Cooper. “You’re all protective all of a sudden towards her. Why the interest? Got your eyes on her yourself? What can you promise her? A life of drinking and feeling sorry for yourself?”
“Now there’s no call for that kind of talk,” Cooper snapped angrily. He glared at Casey from no more than three feet away. “Who the hell are you to criticize anyway? You’re no angel.”
“No I’m not, but I’m interested in your sudden interest in the girl. You’ve said nothing all winter, done nothing, hardly talked to her, so now why are you trying to act like some kind of moral conscience? Not that I’m gonna take any notice.”
“No, I guess not; you’re pig-headed when it comes to women. Think you can charm Lisa away from her parents and give her a life of luxury? Forget her; she’ll find someone more suitable than you.”
“You’re a fucking pain, Cooper,” Casey snapped, suddenly tired of the haranguing. “If you wanted the girl you should have tried it on with her back there. I didn’t exactly see you trying to speak to her.”
“Some chance with you sniffing her panties like some dog on heat.”
Casey swung his right fist and it sent Cooper out of his saddle. He landed on his back in the mud by the side of the trail. Casey dismounted and walked around his horse, advancing on the figure of Cooper who was struggling to his feet. The man didn’t even get upright before charging Casey, bellowing like an outraged grizzly. He hit Casey around the middle with his shoulder, the momentum sending both into the mud. Hats flew off and the two were belabouring one another, trying to find a purchase in the wet soil. It was hard but both got a few solid blows in.
Cooper, though, was outmatched. He gamely fought on but one particularly solid uppercut took him by surprise and he keeled over onto his butt, and sat there, his eyes trying to focus. Like Casey he was smothered in the grey-brown soil, even on his face. Casey stood and looked down at his companion, then smiled.
“What’s so funny?” Cooper demanded, focussing on Casey’s face.
“You look like an unsuccessful pig wrestler.”
Cooper shook both arms, sending clods of mud to the ground. He examined himself, then looked up at Casey. “And you don’t look so good yourself.”
Before they knew it both were roaring with laughter. Cooper held out a hand and Casey pulled him up. They retrieved their hats and remounted. They looked at one another again. “Shit, needed that after those weeks listening to ma’s bible readings. Thought I was going mad back there,” Cooper admitted.
“Yeah, me too. C’mon, lets find a creek and wash some of this off, then we can get going on our search for Clint. There’s some unfinished business to settle.”
“Yeah, you got that right.” He held out a hand. “No hard feelings?”
“Nah,” Casey shook it. “You throw a decent right.”
“So I always thought, but you hit like the Rocky Mountains. Shit, what have you got in those fists? Granite?”
“Good solid food goes a long way,” Casey said cryptically. It might well do but it was nothing to do with the fact he was tough as old nails. Being a slave on imperial Rome’s galleys and a gladiator in the arenas were a lot to do with it, along with centuries of martial training and combat. It would however suffice for the modern day curiosity.
They turned north-west and rode on, determined to bring their own version of justice to Clint Duggan.
It took them a month to get to the Eagle’s Rest. The sun had warmed the land and now spring had given way to summer. Spring and autumn here only lasted a few weeks. The birds and bees, animals and flora were in full cry. It was not far from the Bighorn Hills that they finally ran into a lawman. There were two of them, riding down the trail. Two deputies by the looks of them. One held up a hand to the two men as they closed from opposite directions and so Cooper and Casey stopped.
“Where are you two bound?” one deputy asked suspiciously.
“Montana,” Casey said easily, leaning on the pommel of his saddle. “Heard there’s some decent cattle ranching up there.”
“Some. Looking for two killers. Burned down a few properties down south last year. You s
een anyone suspicious?”
Casey and Cooper exchanged glances. “Nope,” Casey shrugged. “We’ve come up from Fort Laramie. Been pretty bad weather last few months. Not seen anyone yet, not even an Indian.”
The deputy gave them a very careful examination. “You sure look like the descriptions we’ve been given,” he said slowly. “Think I’m gonna have to bring you two in and check out your stories.”
As he reached for his pistol, Casey made a snap decision. He hauled his Colt out and pointed it at the deputy. The second one reached for his gun. “Uh-uh, pal,” the Eternal Mercenary said, “lose it, or you and your friend here get blown away. I’m not fooling.”
The two men dropped their guns and glared at Casey. Cooper waited; he wasn’t happy with the development but he was hanged whatever happened now. The first deputy snarled. “You’re in deep trouble now, friend. Once we catch up with you there’s the hangman’s noose for you.”
“Shut up,” Casey said. “You two are going to come with us into the hills. I don’t want you two to go telling everyone we’re here. Once we finish our job then you can go to Washington and bleat to the president for all I care. For now you’re going to be tied to your saddles and come with us.” He nodded to Cooper to tie the two men to their saddles.
Once this was done the two prisoners were led by rope behind the two men up off the trail and into the broken ground of the hills. Here was bandit territory and anything could happen. At night the two deputies were set down at gunpoint and made to sit back to back and tied together. Rope there was a-plenty, and the irony was that their own ropes were used on them.
Casey approached them and gave them water. “I’m not intending killing you,” he told the two men, “but I can’t let you go just yet. I’m on a mission and need to carry out justice of my own, not that which you’d approve of, and frankly I don’t give a shit whether you like it or not. Its your choice if you get in my way and if you do then I’ll kill you stone dead. Got it? I’ve seen far more than you two can ever comprehend; I’ve put so many people in their graves and I’m still here. Two more won’t make a bit of difference to me or to my life. Now I’m going to ask you nicely; where is the Eagle’s Nest?”