“Them three’s the same ones that caused the mob to hang Tom Burch,” Crazy Chester said. “I saw ‘em do it. I just didn’t think to mention it, and now you’re mad at me.”
“I ain’t not mad at you, Chester,” Josh said. “I’m proud of you. Hell,” he added, “Sheriff Deeson said you did good guardin’ the back door of the jail. You did do a good job, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Chester said.”
Chalky Newsome stepped in the sheriff’s office and nodded. “Hello, Frank,” he said, extending his hand. “How you like bein’ sheriff, again?”
“I’d like it a lot better if I could keep from getting’ throwed in my own damn jail,” Deeson said.
“Let’s go over to the Golden Horse Saloon,” Josh said. “And Chester, if you’ll point them three men out to me and Sheriff Deeson, we’ll arrest ‘em and throw ‘em in jail. Judge Reed don’t know it yet, but he’s in for a busier day than he thought.”
Josh led the way, with Sheriff Deeson, Chalky Newsome, Willie, and Chester, following along behind.
The Golden Horse Saloon was crowded with people who’d witnessed the hanging, and they were loud and rowdy. Crazy Chester eased up alongside Josh and whispered, “Them’s the ones.”
“Talk louder, Chester,” Josh said.
“Them’s the ones!” Chester yelled at the top of his voice as he stood there pointing at three men standing at the far end of the bar.
“I didn’t mean that loud, Chester,” Josh said.
Suddenly there was silence as Josh and Sheriff Deeson drew their pistols and motioned for the men to step away from the bar.
“What the hell’s this about?” demanded a tall man with long brown hair.
“You’ll find out when we get to the jail,” Sheriff Deeson said, motioning toward the swinging doors of the saloon.
“I don’t know as I’ll go,” the tall man said.
“I do,” Josh said, as walked over and shoved the barrel of his revolver against his rib cage. “So get started.”
As Josh and the sheriff herded the lynch mob leaders across the street to the jail, the stagecoach worked its way through the crowd, and passed directly in front of them.
“Hello, Josh,” Will Jensen yelled as he leaned out the window and waived.
“Who’s that?” Chalky Newsome said.
“That’s your cowboy,” Josh said. “That’s Will Jensen.”
Will climbed out of the stagecoach as soon as it stopped and ran back through the crowd to the jail.
“Damn, Will,” Josh said. “If someone had recognized you, we might have had another riot on our hands. Why didn’t you just wait at the stage depot ‘til I got over there?”
“I thought you might need some help,” Will said.
“Well, since you’re here, meet Chalky Newsome, owner of the Circle N Ranch over near Charco.”
“Hello, Mr. Newsome. I know where your ranch is. I was headed out there to ask for a job,” Will said. “But I made a big mistake and took up with the Wolf Gang. I’m not with ‘em no more, though.”
“Yeah, that’s what Josh told me,” Newsome said. “If you’re still interested I’ll give you a job if your date with Judge Reed turns out in your favor. I’ll even be a witness if you want me to.”
“Yes, sir, I’d appreciate that,” Will said. “But can I bring my dog? I left that gang because of him and it wouldn’t make no sense to abandon him now.”
“Sure you can,” Newsome said. “We got four or five out there already and one more sure won’t hurt.”
“We’ll be trailin’ another herd to Colorado soon,” Newsome added. “You can either go with us or stay at the ranch. It’d be your choice.”
“I’d rather stay at the ranch,” Will said. “What with my dog and all. I’d hate to go off and leave Old Jack.”
“Is that his name?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Alright,” Newsome said. “We can talk about it later. But right now, accordin’ to Josh, you’ve a Judge to face.”
“And we got to find a place to keep you, now that the jail is full of the men who hanged Jude Clay,” added Josh.
“He could stay out at the Circle N,” Newsome said. “I’d be comin’ in for the trial, anyway.”
On the day of the trial a big crowd was gathered outside and inside the large barroom of the Golden Horse Saloon where court was held. Many were upset that any member of the Wolf Gang would escape hanging, much less get off, and stared hard at Josh. The three men who had led the lynch mob were up first before the judge.
They testified about family and neighbors killed and life savings stolen. But after the testimony of Sheriff Deeson, Willie, and Chester, it was clear that the law wouldn’t put up with local vigilantes, and they were sentenced to spend time in the Huntsville Prison. The crowd was pretty sober as the three troublemakers were led away by the sheriff.
Then it was Will Jenson’s turn. Josh explained to Judge Reed how Will had given himself up, and how he’d never killed anyone, or kept any of the money taken in robberies. And he added that Will had come all the way from San Antonio to Victoria by himself to appear in court.
Chalky Newsome testified that he’d give Will a job and Willie Sneed explained how Will came to the livery stable and gave himself up. Crazy Chester stood up and said he wanted to talk and Judge Reed nodded and gave him permission.
“Me and Will is friends and that’s all I wanna say.” The crowd started to laugh.
Judge Reed rapped his gavel on the desk. “Order in the court. Being in with a gang of thieves who rob and kill is a very serious matter, even if you didn’t participate in any of the killings,” he said. “The court wants to thank all of you for your testimony, but that doesn’t make Will Jensen any more innocent.”
Suddenly there was silence as William Reese, the same old family lawyer from Houston who won an early release for Josh when he was in prison, strode through the door and asked permission to speak.
Josh had sent him a letter explaining the situation Will Jensen was in, and the famous old lawyer caught the next stagecoach out of Houston. It had barely arrived in time. That’s all it took, for when William Reese finished talking, the outcome of the case satisfied the judge, the townspeople, and especially Will. He would be on probation for five years, employed by the Circle N Ranch, and would report in to the sheriff twice a year. Will also got a stern warning from Judge Reed.
As everyone was leaving the saloon, Josh caught up to Mr. Reese and thanked him for making the trip. “That was a fair verdict you got for Will Jenson. I’m sure glad that young cowboy gets a second chance like you got for me.”
“Well, Josh, your case was a little different, a true miscarriage of justice. You were locked away for killing outlaws that had already been posted ‘Capture Dead or Alive.’”
After pointing out the hotel to William Reese, Josh saddled Concho and led him up to the store to pick up some coffee, hard tack, and jerky.
“Josh,” Will called out when he saw him in front of the store. “I want to thank you for what you did for me.”
“That’s fine, but you don’t need to thank me,” Josh said. “I’m just glad you got on at the Circle N Ranch with Mr. Newsome. He runs a good outfit. He has some good cowboys and lots of good horses, so my bet is you’ll be glad you took him up on the offer.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Undoubtedly it worried Josh that he hadn’t heard from Ana in a while. The blunt truth was he didn’t even know if she was still in Austin. And since she had no idea where he was, before leaving Victoria, he sent her a telegram.
Dearest Ana,
If you want to write to me, send it to Sheriff Frank Deeson in Victoria. If I ain’t here, he will send it on to the sheriff in next town I’ve gone to. I hope to be done with the Wolf Gang soon.
Josh
The air was unbearably muggy, but by late morning the sky had cleared with a breeze, no longer humid and oppressive, but dry and bracing. He climbed up in the saddle and turn
ed Concho toward Papalote, angling southwest at a good pace.
He bitterly regretted not going after Duke Barrett as soon as Jude Clay mentioned he might down there. It was an ugly business, but he felt he had to stay in Victoria to help Will Jensen win his case. He figured it was his only chance to help Will, but that he’d have other chances to go after Barrett.
As the noon sun beat down on him, Josh pulled up in the shade of a few scattered cottonwoods near a small spring to let Concho drink and rest a while. Suddenly Concho raised his head and looked back over his shoulder.
Out of habit, Josh drew his revolver and knelt down behind a bush. At first he couldn’t see anything, but he could hear feet pounding on the hard ground. All of a sudden Crazy Chester came trotting into view. Josh holstered his Colt and stood up.
“Chester, what are you doin’ out here?”
“I’m comin’ to help you,” Chester said.
“I don’t need any help,” Josh said. “I’m just ridin’ along.”
“Well, if you needed some I’d be here,” Chester said.
“I swear, Chester,” Josh said. “Geronimo ain’t even been captured yet and if a small band of fighters caught you out here by yourself they’d scalp you, for sure. Don’t that scare you?”
“It don’t scare me right now,” Chester said. “But if they did it, it would.”
“Well, they would,” Josh said as he looked back toward Victoria at least five miles away.
“Where are you gonna do?” Chester said.
“I’m takin’ you back to town, so climb up here behind me and let’s get started.”
“Alright then,” Chester said.
Josh hated to waste time, but he had no choice but to carry Chester back to Victoria. “It would sure be a big help if you’d help Willie out down at the livery stable,” he said. “You’d like to help him, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Chester said.
Willie Sneed saw them coming down the street and stepped out to meet them. “What are you doin’ back here,” he said. “I thought you was goin’ to Papalote.”
“I was,” Josh said, with a wink. “But Chester said he sure wanted to you out, so I thought I’d bring him down here.”
Willie caught on and nodded. “That’s a good idea, Josh,” he said. “I could sure use the help.”
“I figured you could,” Josh said.
“Chester, are you hungry?” Willie said.
“Yeah,” Chester said.
“Well alright then, head on over to the diner and I’ll be along in a minute,” Willie said. “Where’d you find him?” he added, after Chester walked away.
“I swear, Willie,” Josh said. “I stopped to water my horse about five miles south of here and he came trottin down the road,” Josh said. “See if you can keep him busy so he won’t follow me around. I’m afraid a little band of renegade Indians might see him trottin’ across the prairie and skin him alive.”
Two days later Josh finally made it to Papalote. He’d been riding slow to save Concho for the chase he figured he’d surely have if he caught up with Duke Barrett.
Out in the middle of a vast, flat plain, almost two days ride from anything, lay the wild little town of Papalote. He circled around the small village, looking for the old adobe cabin Jude Clay had mentioned.
He rode almost all the way around the town before spotting the old adobe. Thin wisps of bluish smoke curled upward from the chimney. He didn’t know if Duke Barrett was in the cabin or not, but someone was.
As night was coming on, it was too dark to see if there was a horse in the pen, so he tied Concho back in the brush and slipped ahead on foot. No dogs barked and the ground was bare, which made sneaking up to the window easier than he thought it would be.
Looking in, he saw a tall, gangly fellow sitting at the table eating a bowl of soup. The man looked different from any he’d ever seen. Over against the wall of the one room shack, bound and gagged, lay a young boy about thirteen or fourteen years old. The man at the table was not Duke Barrett, so Josh stepped up on the porch and knocked on the door.
The man cracked the door open about an inch and looked out with one eye. “What do you want?” he asked.
“I was camped over on the creek and my horse got loose,’ Josh said. “He ran in this direction and I was wonderin’ if you saw him?”
“No,” the man said and closed the door. But before he could bolt it, Josh shoved his shoulder against it and knocked the man backward. Josh stepped in with his pistol pointed at the fellow and nodded toward the boy lying on the floor.
“It’s none of my business,” he said. “But I never did like seein’ a kid treated like that. What’s goin’ on in here?”
“You’re right about one thing,” the man said. “It ain’t none of your business.”
“Yeah, well, I’m makin’ it my business,” Josh said as he stripped back the hammer on his Colt. “Sit down in that chair, and don’t rile me no more than I already am.”
He tied the man’s hands behind him and tied his legs to the chair legs, then took the gag off the boy and untied him.
“Are you alright, young man?”
“Yes, sir,” the boy answered.
“What’s your name?”
“Billy Richards.”
“Did that man hurt you?”
“No, sir,” Billy said. “But I want to go home.”
Do you live in Papalote?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why did he tie you up?”
“I don’t know,” Billy said. “I was down by the creek and he just slipped up and grabbed me and brought me in here.”
“What is your father’s name?” Josh asked.
“Rufus,” the boy said. “He owns the bank.”
The first thought that came to Josh’s mind was to shoot the tall man for kidnapping the boy. He turned to him and touched the side of his head with his revolver. “I think I’ll blow the top your head off for treatin’ this boy that way,” he said.
“Wait, don’t shoot,” the man cried. “Just take it easy.”
Josh untied him and made him stand up. “If you make one foolish move and I’ll shoot you. You understand me? I’ll shoot you.”
“Yeah, I understasnd,” the man said. “Just don’t shoot. I won’t make no foolish moves.”
“Alright, son,” Josh said. “Lead the way to your house.”
When Billy started down the dirt street, Josh shoved his gun in the man’s back and forced him to follow.
“I live right there,” Billy said, pointing toward a house, then took off running.
Before Josh and the man could get to the house, a short stocky man came out the front door with a rifle in his hands.
“I’ll kill him,” he yelled.
“No, don’t do that, Mr. Richards,” Josh said. “He already knows I’ll shoot him if he tries anything.”
“Where’d you find Billy?” Richards asked.
“I was lookin’ for a man that stays in that old adobe at the edge of town,” Josh said. “When I looked in the window I saw Billy tied up, so I went in and put a stop to it.”
“Someone left a ransom note on the door of the bank, demanding a thousand dollars, and I would have paid it if he’d have gotten back to me,” Mr. Richards said. “But since he didn’t,” he added, “if you’ll come by the bank tomorrow, I’ll give it to you.”
“I won’t be here tomorrow, Mr. Richards,” Josh said. “I’m on the trail of a bad outlaw and don’t have time to wait ‘til tomorrow. My name is Josh Logan. When tomorrow comes, and you still want to give the reward, just send it to the bank in Victoria.”
“Alright, I will,” Richards said. “And I apologize,” he added. “I was so glad to get Billy back I forgot to thank you.”
“It don’t matter,” Josh said. “Where is the sheriff’s office?”
“I’ll show you,” Mr. Richards said. “He lives above the jail. Do you know him?”
“No, we’ve not met,” Josh said.
While he waited for Richards to wake the old sheriff up, he pressed his revolver against the tall man’s neck.
“Do you live in that adobe?”
“No, a friend of mine owns it and he lets me stay in it for free. All I have to do is cook for ‘em, wash their clothes and blankets, and keep the place clean.”
“What’s your friend’s name?”
“Tom Burch.”
“Tom Burch was hung in Victoria a while back for robbery and murder,” Josh said. “Are you part of his gang?”
“I ain’t in no gang,” the man said. “I didn’t even know Burch had a gang. He said him and his friends was part of a trail driving crew and that they just come to town once in a while to live it up.”
“They weren’t no trail drivin’ crew,” Josh said. “They was robbers and murderers.”
“Well, like I told you, I didn’t know it,” the man said.
“Why’d you kidnap that Richards boy?”
“For money.”
“I ought to hang you, myself, but I won’t,” Josh said. “Mr. Richards and the sheriff will bring in a Judge and he’ll decide what to do with you.”
“I didn’t hurt that kid,” the man said. “So why would they hang me just for kidnappin’ him?”
“You just don’t get it, do you?”
“No, you just don’t get it,” the man said. “I ain’t did nothin’ wrong ‘cept kidnap a kid.”
“Well, like I said, it’s not for me to decide,” Josh said. “But I’ll ask you about somethin’ that might carry some weight with the Judge.”
“What’s that?” the man said.
“Do you know Duke Barrett?”
“Yeah, he’s one of ‘em that comes down here with Tom Burch,” the man said. “Not always, but sometimes.”
“When was the last time he was here?”
“It’s been a while,” the man said. “He has a woman up at Blanconia and sometimes he’d stop off there instead of comin’ down here to Papalote with the rest of ‘em. I think I heard him say her name was Sara.”
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