The Gospel According to Colt

by W. R. Benton

  Kills Many explained what he'd seen at the white camp, how he'd returned to tell Barking Dog he'd seen nothing from his trading post with the white eyes, only to be called a liar by the breed. Then in order to save face, Dog had challenged him to a fight to the death.

  “At that point, father, I had no choice. I had to kill Dog, because I did not want to die, and as you know by our laws, one of us had to cross over to the other side.” The warrior spoke as the chief walked to the dead man's body.

  “He was a fool. Was he drinking firewater?” The chief raised Barking Dog's head by grasping his hair and pulling it up. He shook his head at the senselessness of the death, as he looked into the unseeing eyes of his dead nephew, and then he lowered the head gently.

  “Yes, but his mind was still with him when he challenged me or I would not have fought him.”

  “I knew Dog would not return alive when he rode from this very village and suspected he would be killed by his own people. You had only one choice once challenged, to fight. My nephew never knew when to talk and when to think. While my dream spoke of his people killing him, I never thought it would be you, Kills Much, his own cousin.”

  “Who will care for his body?” Kills Much asked.

  “Take him to his mother and I will ask the shaman to go and assist her in this sad task. I promised him I would see him buried as one of the people and I will do so. I worry about our young warriors, because they anger so quickly and act without much thinking. These are not the ways of a true warrior.”

  Broken Spear said, “Strong Bow was watching a camp of white men and has not returned. I went to bring him back to the village, but he was gone, as were the people he was watching. When the white eyes broke camp and rode away, he followed them.”

  “He is a proven warrior. He will return or he will not, but that decision will be made by the Great Creator.” Charging Bear said, as he watched a sad Kills Much leading the horse with Dog's body draped over it toward the lodge of his mother.

  All of the warriors who heard the chief's words nodded in agreement.

  Over the next few hours little was spoken by Lew or Susan. The weather was excellent, except both were doing some very heavy thinking. Lew knew if he kept poking Susan a child would result and after having just lost seven children, he didn't know if he wanted any more kids of his blood. Billy was different and fun to play with, but a child of their own would scare him, and greatly. He didn't want to keep having children if he couldn't protect them. While he blamed himself for the deaths of his wife and children, he was slowly starting to realize if he'd been there, the escapees would have just killed him too. There is a limit to what one man can do against many, no matter his determination. The murders had left Lew a different man and a lot of self confidence was missing.

  “How much longer to Kansas City do you think?” Susan asked that night over supper.

  “We could have pushed hard today and been there, but I'm in no rush. I suspect Dutch will start to spend some of his money there. He'll buy some new clothes, clean up and appear the gentleman to the ladies. So, that's where I'll look. He can pull that rich man cover on the coppers, because the law dogs don't know any better. I know what a man like him will do and I have an advantage; I know what he looks like too.”

  “Well, Dutch aside, how much of a ride do we have in the morning?”

  Lew thought for a minute and then replied, “About four more hours of riding.”

  “I need a hot bath, some decent food, and a soft bed.”

  He met her eyes and said, “That's not all you need, now is it?”

  “John, I don't want to refuse you, but what if I get pregnant?” she asked and then winked.

  “I've given that some thought and if you're interested, we can hunt up a preacher in Kansas City.”

  “I'll not marry a man who doesn't love me.”

  “I do love you, more than I realized, but words of love don't come easily from me. I'm scared because I've already lost one family.”

  “You'll not lose this one.”

  Lew just looked at her wondering, How can you be so sure?

  Chapter 19

  THE two men walked to the bar and ordered whiskey with a beer chaser. Dutch knew they were taking the time to allow their eyes to adjust to the dim light in the saloon. As soon as they could see well, they'd make their play. They knocked their hard drinks back quickly and then took sips of their beers.

  Five minutes later, they both turned away from the bar after eyeing him for a long time in the big mirror behind the bar. With their elbows resting on the bar top, the one on the right asked, “Do you go by the name of Dutch?”

  He ignored them, looking into his beer glass.

  “Hey, you, stupid! Sitting alone with the bottle of rye, is your name Dutch?”

  “My name is Butch, not Dutch.”

  “I think you're Dutch from the federal prison in Jefferson City, Missouri.”

  “Never been there.”

  “I think you're a liar!” The man almost screamed.

  “I don't think you do much thinking, period. Pull in your horns, cowboy, and leave me the hell alone.”

  “There's a reward of five thousand dollars for you, Dutch, and that's a lot of money.” the other man said, but with a controlled and even voice.

  “My name is Butch.”

  “Stand, Butch , and we'll take you to the law and let's see what they have to say. It's either that, or I kill you where you sit. The reward is for you dead or alive.”

  “Son, you mess with me and I'll kill you. I was killing men while you were still crapping in your diapers.”

  “Look old man, you either stand or die in the chair. I'm giving you to the count of three. One . ..”

  “Son, I hope you're willing to die over this mistake.” Dutch said as he stood.

  The two men at the bar reached behind their backs with their left hands and grabbed their long coats, pulled them back, so they'd have clean access to their guns.

  “Two . . .” The man continued to count.

  The quiet one with the even voice is the first one to die, because I think he's the more dangerous of the two , he thought and prepared himself to hit the man with his shot in the middle of his chest.

  “Three!” the man yelled and reached for his gun.

  Dutch took his time, pulled his pistol, which was still faster than both of them, and fired. His first shot took the quiet man in the middle of his chest, which knocked him to the bar screaming. Then the second man was struck in the throat and he fell choking as blood poured into his lungs. Both men were jerking and shaking as their bodies shut down, leaving a massive puddle of blood on the sawdust covered floor. The strong smell of blood filled the air, as a fine mist of crimson floated in front of the bar from the throat shot.

  Placing his still smoking guns in his holsters, Dutch threw two dollars on the table, picked up his bottle of rye and left the saloon, heading back to his hotel room. He walked at his leisure, as he whistled an unknown tune until safely in his room. He then poured three fingers of drink in his glass and began to read the paper he'd bought from Duke.

  Dutch chuckled when he read the James Gang had been blamed for all of his robberies. Also, there was one small paragraph on the fifth page about three of the escaped prisoners from Jefferson City still being loose.

  Well, the three missing must be me, Sam, and Bill. The last two will never be identified and I hope I'm never caught. I also hope that tailor has some of my clothing ready tomorrow so I can change my appearance. Or, I guess I can hang around the hotel more often. I may have money, but I don't like to waste it spending it on overpriced items in a hotel , he thought and gulped the rest of his drink down.

  He was just about asleep when there was a light knock on his door. He got out of bed, pulled his hog-leg, pulled the hammer back, and moved to the door.

  “Who is it?” Dutch asked, his voice just above a whisper.

  “It's me, Duke, and I've seen them people.”

 
“Just a minute and I'll unlock the door.”

  When the door was unlocked, the man said, “Get in here now.”

  “I know it's night, but thought you'd want to know anytime I saw them.”

  “How do you know it's them?” Dutch asked.

  “Well, I can't be a hundred percent sure, but I'm pretty sure. They were still wearin' the clothes you said they had on the last time you saw 'em. It was a man ridin' an Injun pony, a woman on a big bay with a young child, oh, about four or five years old bein' held on her hip. The hair colors are all exactly what you told me and they must be them.”

  “Any idea where they went?”

  “Yep, I have a buddy named Oscar that works at the place they got a room at, too.”

  “Anything else?”

  “It's the Cactus Hotel and they're in room 103. Did I do good, Butch?”

  Reaching in his pocket, Dutch pulled out a golden double eagle and handed it to the boy as he said, “Your tip for doing such excellent work.”

  “Wow, thanks, Butch. Twenty dollars!”

  “Now, scat because I don't want anyone to see you and me together. I want you to hang near that hotel over the next few days and see what you can learn. If you do a good job, there'll be a lot more money for you.”

  “Gee, thanks, Butch. I'll do that for sure.” Duke's eyes were glittering with excitement. He left the room at a run.

  Now what , he thought, do I take the fight to him or do I try to avoid them all? I know I'm faster than him, but a man out for revenge can take a lot of punishment, just to achieve his goal, which in this case is my death.

  He poured another drink, sat in a plush leather chair, and thought, there must be a way I can keep him off my ass. Oh, yes, the woman with the baby. Why didn't I think of her before? Now, I don't need to take no brat, but the woman is a way to control him. If I take her, he'll have to back off or I can threaten to kill her. Plus, having to care for the child will slow him down a great deal. Yes, this is perfect, and I don't see how it can go wrong. I'll find out from Duke when John is gone most of the time and then take her one day when he's gone. I can keep her quiet by feeding her whiskey and laudanum. Once she gets the habit, she'll sell her soul for more of the drug. Hell, that's the way the whorehouses treat their new girls, so I may even find out if she's good in bed or not. Get her hooked and then refuse her the drug until she pleases me. Oh, this is so good.

  Dutch drank too much, passed out, and awoke the next morning still in the plush chair, with an almost empty bottle of rye on the table. He'd just taken a large gulp of the strong drink when he heard a knock on his door. Pulling his watch, he saw it was nine in the morning.

  “Who's at my door at this hour?” he asked brusquely.

  “It's me, sir, your tailor, with some of your clothing.”

  “Give me a minute.” He picked up the bottle of the rye and fighting the urge to puke, he finished off the bottle.

  He opened the door, recognized the tailor, and asked, “Is at least one suit done?”

  “Yes, sir, your dark gray frock coat with matching trousers and white ruffled shirt, are complete. I'd like to suggest you select your shoes to match your suits from our boot shop, sir. I can have them to you within an hour.”

  Two hours later, Dutch stood looking at himself in the mirror and hardly recognized himself. He was dressed in the latest fashion, except he refused a top hat and wore his gray Stetson. However, unlike most dandies, he wore both holsters loaded with Colts on his narrow hips. By God, I look good for a man who was drunk as hell last night. Now that I have on my best bib and tucker, I need to see some of this town.

  He walked down stairs, nodded to the clerk and walked outside. He saw Duke almost immediately where he usually stood selling papers. He walked to the boy and said, “Mornin' Duke, how's business?”

  “Dang, Butch, ya look swell.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “Let me put it this way, I hope you're armed so you can keep all the women away from ya.” The young man burst into laughter.

  “Any news for me?”

  “Nope. Too soon to see if the man has any habits yet. Oscar's watchin' too, just so we can keep an eye on him. Hard to believe he'd bring his family here wantin' to kill ya.”

  “He's a bad sonofa —, well, you know what I mean.” Dutch said.

  “Oh, yeah, and I've seen a few here too. Ya want to meet some low life's, go to the south side of K. C. and look around. I'll swear they have men there that'll kill their own mothers for a dollar.”

  “I want a paper. Where's the best place for a man to have a really nice meal?”

  Duke thought for a minute and then said, “Follow me and I'll take you to the Blue Goose Restaurant. I can't afford to eat there, but I hear it's the best in town.”

  “What kind of food do they serve?”

  “You name it, they got it. I heard they have French, Italian, and German food, and it's all good. I also heard they got good down home cookin' from the South, but I don't know, because I've never been out of the city.”

  “I want something new, because I grew up in the south, so maybe I need to talk to a waiter about all of this. Come with me, Duke, and I'll buy you lunch. See, I hate to eat alone.”

  “At the Blue Goose? I don't know, it's expensive and I heard a cheap meal there is five dollars. That's a lot of money.”

  “No, come with me. You're my only friend here in town and I'll buy you anything you want to eat. How's that sound?”

  “Okay, but don't get mad when you get the bill. I'm warnin' ya right now.”

  “Not a problem. You have warned me, but what you don't know is that I have enough money to buy the Blue Goose.”

  “Really?”

  “I'm worth a fortune, Duke. I found a lot of gold in Montana and brought it all out too. So, let’s go and don't worry about the cost. Only, don't be blabbing all over town that I have money or you might get us both killed.”

  Duke smiled and replied, “Your secret is safe with me.”

  “Let's go, then, and I want you to order anything you want.” Dutch said, and meant it. He liked Duke, because the kid reminded him of himself at that age. When he was a young man, he'd tried so hard for a number of years to be honest and not break the law, only there was no money to be found. He'd almost starved to death and he learned the world was a cold dark place for most folks. Dutch reached the conclusion that if a man was born poor and without money, he'd likely die that way, unless he broke the law at some point. He actually considered successful folks as law breakers who'd not been caught, while the poor were honest workers, and he still held that conviction.

  When they entered the restaurant, management quickly appeared and said, “We're sorry, sir, but the boy cannot come in dressed like that. We are known as a quality establishment and have our standards of dress.”

  “The boy eats with me, because he's my hired help.” Dutch said.

  “I'm sorry sir, but it can't happen.”

  “Get the manager and get him now!” Dutch grew loud.

  Once the manager arrived an argument developed, and then, Dutch grew angry and said, “I've half a mind to buy this place and fire every damned one of you!”

  The manager smiled and said, “It is for sale, sir, but I doubt you have the asking price of $10,000.00.” He then laughed and left Dutch fuming.

  “Come with me, boy, we're heading to the bank.”

  At the bank, The First National and Trust Bank, he introduced himself and said, “I wish to purchase the Blue Goose Restaurant and I understand it's for sale for ten grand. Let the owner know I am willing to pay nine grand in cash and as soon as he can get here.”

  “Excellent, sir, and a wise business move. That place is a proven money maker, but how will I reach you?”

  “That part is easy, because we'll wait in your office, unless you dislike young boys too.”

  “No sir, I'm very fond of all, uh, children.” the banker lied.

  Three hours later, Dutch and
Duke entered the Blue Goose and asked to speak with the manager and the waiters. He didn't call out the kitchen staff.

  Once all were present, he met the eyes of the manager and said, “You, sir, no longer work here. You're fired. I expect you gone within five minutes and you are to never return here, because you'll not be welcome.”

  The manager lowered his head and replied, “I understand, sir.” He then walked from the building.

  “Now, do any of the rest of you have any problems serving me or my man here? He works for me and I own this place. Who is the assistant manager?”

  A thin man, with little hair, and of average size said, “That's me and I'm James Peabody, sir.”

  “James, this boy is named Duke and he works for me. Any time he comes in here, he's to eat for free and not be harassed, understood? I mean not bothered by anyone, staff or customers. Over the next few days I'll get him some new clothes, but until then, you remember what I've said. Starting next Monday, you are to train him to be a manager. Now, don't worry, he'll not take over here, because I'll soon be opening a place that will only serve beef steaks and pork. So, as you can see, your job is safe, because I have the other eating place in mind.”

  “I will do my best, sir.”

  “All the rest of you get back to work, except for you, Peabody, or may I call you James?” Dutch asked.

  “James or Jim is fine, sir.”

  “Well, James, since Duke will be training here, I want him paid two thirds of what you make and he's to be paid in cash each week. You, however, will receive an increase of pay, say, oh, twenty-five percent until he's fully able to run a place like this. I don't figure teaching is part of your normal job.”

  Bowing Peabody said, “Why thank you, sir, and it's very generous of you. I currently make $150.00 a month, so the boy will make close to $100.00 a month.”

  “Correct and your pay will go up close to $187.00 a month.”

  “Now, if you and the lad will follow me, I'll see you are served.”

  “I don't know iffen I'm smart enough to run a place like this, Butch.” Duke said as he watched the staff moving from table to table. All were busy doing something. “And, a hundred a month is more money than my pa made in six months.”