by C. J. Petit
____
Joe Miles woke up to a nightmare. He momentarily thought that what had happened had been a nightmare. Then he touched his daughter’s cold hand and realized what was real.
He got up and walked through the empty house. No one was there at all. No Libby. No Mary. He went outside. After visiting the privy, he went to the empty bunkhouse. Nobody there either. Where was the cook?
The cook was with the hands. He had seen them saddling up and told them to wait while he saddled another horse. They had waited because he brought two bags of food.
So, Joe Miles had an empty ranch, a dead hand in his daughter’s bedroom, and a dead daughter. All because of those Jews. He turned around and stomped back into the house.
____
Those Jews were eating breakfast at the diner. Their wagon was in front, and they were ready to head back to the ranch.
“Well, Rachel, we’ll see what happened in a little while.”
“I think he’ll be all right, Eli.”
“I hope so, or more of our plans will be worthless.”
“No, everything will work out.”
“I hope so.”
Thirty minutes later, Rachel was driving the wagon at a good clip to the ranch.
They passed the sheriff’s office. There were five horses out front.
Inside the office, Hank Anderson was explaining what they heard.
“I’m tellin’ ya, Zeke. Joe done murdered Bill Cook. We all heard it, didn’t we, boys?”
There were murmurs of agreement.
“We heard a gunshot and then some of the most god-awful screamin’ you ever did hear.”
“So, you expect me to go up there and bother Joe Miles based on your imaginations, do ya?”
“It ain’t our imaginations, Zeke. Now, it’s your job, not ours. We ain’t goin’ into that place.”
“Well, I ain’t, either. I’ll ask Joe about it next time I see him.”
Hank threw up his hands, and they all walked out.
When they got outside, they huddled.
“He ain’t gonna do nothin’ to piss off Joe Miles,” said the cook.
“Who we gonna tell, then?”
“How about Miss Libby? She’ll know what to do.”
“Where is she, you reckon?”
“Same place she was last night. The Star A.”
“Let’s go over to the café and get some breakfast before we head out that way.”
Nodding heads followed, and they walked to the café, leaving their horses in front of the sheriff’s office.
____
Gus and Libby had finished breakfast and were jointly cleaning up.
“What do we do today?” she asked.
“We wait for Eli and Rachel to return so we can tell ’em what happened.”
“Then what?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know if Joe’s gonna get shootin’ mad or what. He sure seemed like it last night.”
“Are you any good with that Colt?”
“Pretty good.”
“He’s not all that good. I think I’ve only seen him shoot once.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that. Let’s head out to the front porch and take a seat. They should be back soon.”
“All right. Gus, can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Sometimes, when you’re not paying attention, you don’t talk cowboy talk. You know, you stop saying ‘ain’t’ or ‘y’all.’ But then you drop right back into it.”
“You mean, like if you ask me a question and I speak less like a hick from the farm?”
She laughed. “Yes. That’s what I mean exactly.”
“Seems like everyone asks me about that.”
So, Gus explained.
“Wow, Gus. That’s a whole new you.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Just the opposite. I like it a lot.”
“Then that’s all you’ll hear from me, Libby.”
He smiled at her and took her arm as they walked to the porch.
They hadn’t been sitting outside for more than ten minutes when they saw the wagon.
“Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Aronson have returned for the day.”
“Now you’re getting obnoxious.” Libby laughed.
“Lord, it’s going to be fun having you around, Libby.” He leaned over and kissed her.
Rachel turned the wagon onto the access road.
“There’s Gus, but who’s the woman with him?”
“I don’t know. It looks like it might be Libby Miles.”
“I think you’re right. The house is still standing, but it looks like Gus had to use his fire circle.”
Rachel pulled the wagon up to the house, and Gus helped her down and then gave her a big hug.
“It’s wonderful to see you both again. It felt odd not having you around. I have a lot to explain to you both. I’ll unhitch the team later.”
He escorted Rachel as Eli walked up the stairs slowly. Rachel went into their bedroom for a moment and then came back out and sat down with Eli on the couch. Libby sat in a chair opposite as Gus began.
“I’m sure you both remember Libby from the other day. She really was critical to the whole situation last night.
“After you left, I did as I said I would do and walked up to the northwest corner. I saw Libby’s horse there, but no Libby. I crossed over to their side and found her in a gully. She had been struck in the head by Joe Miles and shoved into the gully.”
Rachel was dismayed. “He did that to you, Libby?”
“Yes. He wanted to use that as an excuse to get the men to burn you out.”
“After I brought Libby back here. We waited for them to show. I was in the yard with my shotgun and a match. Libby was just inside the door with the Winchester. When they got close, I set off the fire and they were all under the shotgun. I had them drop the torches. Then Joe Miles went off on this rant about how I raped and killed Libby. That’s when Libby walked out of the house with the Winchester’s butt on her hip. It was an incredible show. Joe lost his bluster, and they all left. I was planning on finding out what happened, but I wanted to wait for you to return. I also have a favor to ask of you.”
“Gus, you know you can ask us for anything,” said Eli.
“Could Libby stay in the house with you for a while? She can’t go back to the Slash M.”
“That’s not our decision, Gus. It’s yours,” Eli replied.
“Of course, it’s your decision, Eli. It’s your ranch.”
“No, Gus, it’s your ranch. We changed it yesterday. We’re going back to Kansas City this afternoon. Our train leaves at 4:10.”
Gus was speechless.
“No. That’s not right, Eli, Rachel. This is your home.”
“Yesterday when we were heading to Kinnick, we met a messenger on the road. He gave me a telegram. It was from my father’s attorney. He passed away three days ago, and I have to go back and settle his estate. I’m his only heir. We do have one favor we ask of you, Gus. That you look in on Sara from time to time.”
Gus still didn’t know what to think.
“Of course, I’ll make sure Sara is all right. But I’d still rather you stay.”
“I know you would. That’s what makes this so difficult for us. Gus, in the short time that you’ve been here, you’ve become so much like the son we never had. You can look out for our Sara.”
“But what about money? I don’t have much anymore, but you need money to live. That money you have in the bank isn’t enough to live on.”
“You’re right, it isn’t. My father had plenty of money in Kansas City. It’ll be there when we get back. We took a hundred dollars out of the bank for our return journey. The rest we withdrew, and it’s in a bank draft with your name on it. It’s in our bedroom. You’ll need it to run the ranch.”
“Absolutely not, Eli. That’s your money.”
“Gus, we don’t need the money. Yet you, who had only a couple of hundred dollars to you
r name, bought us food, supplies, and even chickens. You asked for nothing but hard work. Take the money and the ranch. Keep an eye on Sara.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your father, Eli.”
“Don’t be. He was a heartless, selfish bastard. He could have helped us at any time, but he chose to ignore us. I don’t miss him one bit.”
“I’m going to miss you both.”
“And we’ll miss you, Gus.”
“So, you’ll be leaving today?” he asked.
“If you could take us to the train depot.”
“I will. Will you write to me and give me your address so I can tell you what’s going on?”
“Of course, we will. I’ll give you our address now. It’s my father’s address.”
“Would it be okay if I visit sometime?”
Rachel started to tear up. “We’d be delighted, Gus.”
Gus stood up and walked to Rachel and gave her a kiss on the forehead and a hug. Then he gave Eli a hug and shook his hand.
Libby said, “I think I should get lunch started.”
Gus turned to her, “Thank you, Libby. It’s too bad it can’t be chicken.”
Eli and Rachel laughed, and Libby hadn’t a clue. “You’ll have to explain that one to me later.” She smiled as she left.
After she was gone, Rachel asked with a big smile, “So, Gus, are you finally going to move into the house?”
“Definitely,” he answered with a grin.
“I thought so.”
They heard hooves out front, and Gus trotted to the front door. He recognized Hank Anderson right away.
“Morning, Hank! What’s up?”
“Gus, mind if we set? We need to talk to Miss Libby. We think bad things are goin’ on.”
“Sure. Go ahead and come on in and set.”
Gus trotted up the stairs and shouted, “Libby! The boys from the Slash M need to talk to you.”
The four cowhands and the cook entered the house, hats in hands. Libby came out of the hallway and smiled at them.
“What’s going on, Hank?”
“Miss Libby, we think Joe murdered Bill Cook last night while was um . . . well, with Miss Mary. We all heard a gunshot and then some god-awful screamin’.”
“Did you go to the sheriff?”
“Yes, ma’am. All of us did. But he told us he’d talk to Joe when he saw him. That was all. I thought you oughta know.”
“Thank you, Hank.”
Libby turned to Gus.
“Gus, what should we do?”
“First, we need to find out what happened in the house. The fastest way is cross-country. We can be there in ten minutes. I’ll go saddle, Belle. Libby, I’ll need you along to show me where I need to go. Hank, I’ll need you and a couple of other hands to come along. You won’t have to go into the house; we’ll do that. I’ll need two hands to stay here and protect Mr. and Mrs. Aronson in case Joe tries to come here. I’ll leave the shotgun for that.”
“Okay, Gus. And Gus? You sure do talk funny.”
“I know. It’s just this bein’ around all of them city folk what done it.”
Hank smiled.
“Let’s go, Libby. Eli and Rachel, you stay put. Have some lunch.”
The cook said, “I’ll take care of lunch, Mrs. Aronson. That’s my job.”
“Why, thank you.”
Gus, Libby, Hank, and two of the other hands trotted out of the house and to the corral. Gus whistled, and Belle trotted over. Libby hunted down Cleo and led her out of the barn. Gus also led the big chestnut gelding out. All three horses were saddled, and the five riders and the trailed gelding crossed to the edge of the Star A. They all trotted across the pasture until they reached the house.
Libby and Gus dismounted and walked inside.
“Why the extra horse, Gus?”
“You’ll see in a minute. I hope they were wrong, but I don’t think so.”
Libby led them to Mary’s room. The door was open. They both looked inside and saw the two dead, naked bodies. Gus took a minute to look at the wounds. He noted Mary’s neck wound with its clean exit wound and the gut shot into Cook. He also saw a bloody footprint on Cook’s stomach.
“Let’s get out of here, Libby.”
She needed no incentive. They returned quickly and stepped out onto the porch. Libby was white as a sheet.
Gus said, “Hank, you were right. In Mary’s room, we found Bill Cook and Mary both dead. They were naked, so Joe must have caught them in the act. Judging by their wounds, it looks like he meant to kill Cook, but somehow Mary got in the way and took the slug first in the neck. It probably went through her and into Cook’s abdomen. Judging by the footprints on his belly, the screams you heard were from Joe stepping on his gut. Now, here’s what I need you to do. Your horse is probably a bit tired. Take the big gelding. It’s about seventeen miles to Hendrick. Take your horse in tow and switch off when you think you have to. You should be able to get there in a little more than an hour. Go and see Sheriff Gannon. Tell him what we just found. Now, I’m going to need the other two hands to stay here until the sheriff arrives to keep Joe from coming back and hiding the bodies. Are there any other guns inside, Libby?”
“Yes. He keeps three Winchesters and a shotgun in his office on the wall.”
“Okay, boys, let’s move.”
They needed no urging.
“Hank, tell the sheriff that I’m concerned about further violence by Joe Miles and that he needs to get here as soon as possible.”
“Will do, Gus.”
Hank dropped down from his horse and mounted the tall gelding while Gus fashioned a trail rope. Hank took off down the access road and turned north. The two hands ran inside and grabbed a Winchester each, and one took the shotgun down. All were loaded.
“Libby, let’s head back to the Star A.”
She nodded and mounted Cleo. Gus was on Belle quickly, and they rode back cross-country and arrived at the house. They left their horses saddled. Cleo was hitched, and Libby looked at Gus as he left Belle standing.
“You can explain your horse later.”
“I will.”
The cook had a good lunch prepared. Eli and Rachel were already eating. They stopped and looked up.
“It was worse than we expected. Joe must have caught Mary and Bill Cook in the act and tried to kill Bill, but the shot killed them both. I sent Hank to get the county sheriff and left two of the hands there to make sure Joe doesn’t try to hide the bodies.”
“What is wrong with that man?” asked Rachel.
“Everything,” was Libby’s reply.
The other hand, John Phillips, came in. He had heard the talk.
“What’ll we do now?”
“You get some lunch. Then you and Fred go and take some food to the other guys. Libby and I will stay here. I’d like one of you to stay in the house after we’re gone. Use the shotgun. They have one at the Slash M. Hopefully, the sheriff will be here within three hours.”
“Okay.”
Gus and Libby joined Fred, the cook, and John Phillips in eating lunch. Afterward, the cook took the food across to the other men. John stayed at the house and held the shotgun.
____
Joe Miles and Reverend Quincy were in deep conversation in the reverend’s home.
“No, Joe. You didn’t sin. You stopped immoral fornication, which is an abomination that was taking place in your home. But the other problems were all because of those killers of the Christ that live nearby bringing the wrath of God down upon you. We must stop them now. You say that your wife has left you to fornicate with that Jew lover?”
“Yes, Reverend. I am sure of it. Last night she was there in the house. She dared to defy me. I, who have given her everything. Yet she openly commits adultery. Perhaps they had a Jewish ritualistic orgy, and they were all involved.”
“Yes, that sounds likely. Do you have anyone who can help us cleanse them from our town.”
“No, Reverend. All of my hired hands have deserted
me. Probably because of my wife. I think she had them all in her bed. I feel so ashamed of what she has done.”