by W. R. Benton
The man looked at Dutch and said, “I came in here to get a horse, not to defend your ass.”
Dutch turned, pointed his pistol at the man and pulled the trigger. Down the man went, the back of his head blown off by the heavy bullet.
“Useless sumbitches. They promised to defend this place and ain't a damned one of 'em hung around long enough to even shoot once. How in the hell did the law learn about me?” he said aloud, not aware he was talking to himself.
He then saw a man start to run by the open door to the barn, snapped off a quick shot and unknowingly put a bullet in Sheriff Slocum's left leg. The old experienced law dog hit the ground hard and knowing he was hit, rolled out of sight as quickly as he could. He crawled behind some old stacked lumber and casks of nails, hoping the snakes were gone. He pulled his neckerchief off and tied it around his calf. He'd taken a round though the meaty portion of his leg, and knew he'd been lucky. Some of his deputies may not live long enough to serve this search warrant. He gave a dry cackle, because the warrant was useless now; an open battle between evil and justice was taking place.
It grew quiet.
“I'm in the tack room!” Susan screamed.
When Lew started to move, the Sheriff yelled, “Stay where you are, Stoner! Boy, talk to Davis and do it now!”
“Butch, come on out and let the woman go!” Duke yelled, and then added, “It ain't right to hold no woman against her will!”
“Is that you, Duke?”
“It's me, Butch. I don't want ya hurt none.”
“Did . . . did ya bring the law here, boy?”
“Yes, I did! It ain't right what you're doin' to that woman, Butch.”
Dutch was confused, because he loved Duke like that son he never had and trusted the boy.
As Dutch and Duke talked, Lew ran around to the rear of the barn and spotted a rear door. As he opened the door, he prayed its old rusty hinges didn't squeak, or Momma Stewart would be shy a boy at the next family reunion. The door was quiet.
“Can I come in and talk to you, Butch?” Duke asked.
“No, hell no! You let me down, you little sumbitch! Stay out of my life and I mean forever. Damn you, now I'll likely go back to the penitentiary!”
“Don't talk to me like that, Butch! You did wrong by that woman, and we both know it too!”
The woman, she's my ticket out of here. Dutch thought. He moved to the tack room, unchained Susan from the wall, but kept the chain on her hands. He then pulled her to a horse and was tossing a blanket on, when Lew stepped from the darkness and said, “That's enough, Davis. You have my woman and I've come for her. Now, either you allow her to walk away, or I'll kill you. If you want, once she's gone, we can settle this between us.”
Dutch grabbed Susan, pulled her in front of him and squeezed off a fast shot toward Lew. Lew felt the bullet take him deep in the shoulder, screamed, and then fell to the straw covered floor, kicking horse apples and cow pies into the air. His cocked pistol had fallen on the floor of a nearby stall.
Dutch shoved Susan to the floor, as she screamed for Lew and then gave her a vicious kick to the side of her head. He cocked his pistol, walked to Lew and said, “I hope you've made your peace with your maker. I fully intend to send you to hell in one —”
“Turn around, Butch, and face me. You taught me to never shoot a man in the back.”
“Oh, Jesus, Duke, don't make me kill you, boy. You know you ain't even close to my speed with a gun.” Dutch said, as he holstered his Colt, shook his head and then turned to face the boy.
“You once told me speed ain't everything, and for me to concentrate on hitting my target. Butch, I just watched you shove that woman to the ground and then kick her hard in the head. What in the world happened to the man I know? I thought you were someone. I thought you were special! I can see now it was all an act. You're really a nobody, huh? You're no real man, or you'd never treat a woman like that. I'm going to kill you, Butch.”
“Duke, don't make me kill you, boy! Hell, you ain't no shootist!”
“Draw, Butch, or I'll shoot you where you stand. You're no good as a man and you need to die! You lied to me and Peabody! You lied to the world, Butch! You're a liar and cheat, do you hear me?”
Knowing Duke had to die or he'd never get away, Dutch went for his guns. His first shot struck the boy high, in the left shoulder, and then he heard a shot and felt a bullet take him hard, just above his belt buckle. Looking down at the blood seeping from his wound, the man thought, I think I trained this boy too good.
He heard another shot, felt a hard blow to his chest and fell next to Lew. He tried to raise his shooting iron when the boy neared, but his body would not obey his commands. His one remaining pistol was pulled from his weak fingers by Duke.
The boy was crying as he yelled, “Why'd ya make me kill ya! Why!”
“Son . . . there has . . . has to be a . . . reward for . . . me. Take it and . . . make something of your—” Dutch said, then gave a mighty shiver, a loud rattling came from deep in his chest and then he fell back limply.
His eyes were open, but he never saw Duke push the hair from his bloody face or heard the prayer the young man said for him.
Duke had loved his friend deeply, but had been forced to kill him, because he was less than a man. He was no good, no good at all as a human being.
“Son, I know killing him was hard for you, but would you please check on my wife? Please?” Lew asked, between clinched teeth.
“Uh, sure.” the boy replied and then wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Then, check on the Sheriff too, please.”
The young man soon led Susan to Lew, who immediately started ripping her slip to make a bandage for him.
“He tried to feed me laudanum, but I spat it out after he left me. He kept a bottle of whiskey in the room too, and I did drink a lot of it, because I was unable to sleep. Oh, John, I've been worried sick about you and Billy.”
As she was tearing the material, the boy walked outside the barn to see the Sheriff limping toward the building.
“I heard enough to know you killed 'em, boy. What he told you is true, there is a reward for him, dead or alive, in the amount of five thousand dollars. Son, I'm sorry you had to kill him.” Slocum said, and them moaned from pain.
“There is a reward for saving my wife too, for ten thousand dollars.” Lew said and then added, “Only right now, son, what you need is a preacher man. Now, move over here and let my wife take a look at your shoulder.”
Duke stood straight and said, “No, I don't need no preacher. It'll just take me time to get over what I was forced to do. When I saw him kick your wife in the head, something exploded in me, Mr. Stoner.” the young man said, then moved to Susan.
“Son, the restaurant that Dutch owned will be auctioned off here shortly and all his funds taken by the state. I'm sure, if you used your reward money, you could buy the place.”
Susan smiled and said, “Iffen he can't, I know I can, and I'll want a thousand dollars in cash for the place.” she gave the young man a big hug. She then wrapped him up well and added, “There, almost good as new.”
Duke, finally realizing it was all over and he'd been forced to kill his best friend, walked to the nearest hay bale and sat. With teary eyes he then said, “Butch always told me, it ain't the fastest draw that wins in a gunfight, but the man who hits his target dead center. Shootin' is easy, livin' with what I've done will take me a long spell. Killin' has to be the easiest thing in the world to do, but then it's hard to accept you've taken a life.” The young man broke down and began to sob.
Later, as he was being helped onto the bed of a hitched wagon by Duke, the prior preacher man said, “Son, never lose your faith in God, because he works in mysterious ways. And the day killing doesn't bother you, hang up your guns, because you don't need to be wearing them.”
“God does work in mysterious ways, Mr. Stoner, that he does.” the young man replied, unsure what else to say.
Lew then tho
ught, A boy entered this barn, but he'll leave here a full fledged man.
“Let's go home, John. I'm sure little Billy wants us both by now.” Susan said and then kissed Duke on the top of his head.
“What . . . what was that for?” the boy asked.
“It was for you being the young man that you are, Duke. You may be short a few years, but you're one hell of a fine man.” she replied.
Duke was still beaming a little later when they drove the wagon into town.
The End
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About the Author
W. R. Benton was born on his grandfather’s farm near Vida, Missouri, down in the Ozark Mountains. He attended public schools in the local area and graduated from Rolla Senior High, Rolla, Missouri, in 1971. After graduation, he joined the United States Air Force and began a career that would span over 26 years. He has an Associate's Degree in Search and Rescue, Survival Operations, a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Safety and Health, and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology completed, except for his thesis. It was his safety training that improved his above average writing skills, because he learned to sequence mishaps in formal reports. His first western released was “Silently Beats the Drum,” and over 34 more books, eBooks, or audio books have followed.
W. R. Benton is popular among readers who love hard continuous action and adventure. As a young reader, he would often turn pages to find more excitement. So, when he turned to writing, he decided his readers should be entertained, made to think, and feel the emotions of his characters. Many readers say his work grasps them in the first paragraph and maintains their interest until the last paragraph, which is exactly what W. R. strives for when writing.
Mister Benton lives in Mississippi, with his wife, dogs, and cats on an imaginary ranch.
Visit him at: www.wrbenton.net
or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wrbenton01
Endnotes
i See The Plains Series by W. R. Benton
ii See Nate Grisham, Black Mountain Man by W. R. Benton
New Audiobooks
Just released - The Fall of America: Book 2
&
The Fall of America : Book 3
Both are available at Audible.com and iTunes
Montana
For the Kindle
Missouri isn't the place Corporal James Thomas remembers from before the Civil War. Deserters and thieves abound making life for his aging parents and neighbors harsh, and in too many cases, brutishly short. In the young Corporal's case a serious head injury leaves him with bouts of epilepsy, the unfriendly reminder of his years with the Confederate Army.
James is torn, should he hold fast to his former way of life and fight for his Missouri town, or give into the desire of escaping the past and moving out west. Eventually, James can't hide from his dreams any longer. Accompanied by his new wife and a few others friends looking for low-cost land on the western frontiers, they picks up stakes to start out for a new life in Montana. Their task is rough and the trail is difficult, but through it all James keeps alive his mission of living his way...in a wild Montana.
Silently Beats the Drum
Book One in The Drum Series
The Civil War has beaten down Jeb Patton beyond the point of mere exhaustion. Only the precious memories of the girl he left behind sustains him as he fights on. He should have died countless times as he fought for Southern Cause and Jeb knows his luck is running mighty low. Fate catches up to him one night near a no-name town somewhere in war-torn Arkansas. Instead of waking up in the arms of an angel, he wakes up in a medical tent—his right leg gone. With this blow Jeb loses the desire to live, until he meets a man even more severely injured than himself. Taking strength from this unfortunate fellow soldier's misery, the newly discharged Jeb makes plans to head home.
It's not an easy road, and Jeb is hampered by his injuries, the dangers of bushwackers and Union soldiers who are raiding the countryside. Ironically Jeb befriends an old slave—now a runaway heading north to freedom. Together they stand a better chance of surviving the chaos and they team up in their travels. Challenges and heartache await them on the dusty trail, but the pair set out for the frontier with little more then their courage and dreams of a better tomorrow.
DEATH COMES AT DAWN : The Drum Series Book 2
The sequel to Silently Beats the Drum
Book Two continues the story of Civil War veteran, Jeb Patton. Now settled in the Rocky Mountains, starting anew as a farmer in the wilderness is a difficult task and one that takes both gumption and lots of raw determination.
Jeb and Speaks Much, his new wife, learn from Sioux chief Hump that war with the white eyes may be inevitable if the buffalo hunters continue to decimate the herds the tribes depend upon for their survival.
Patton befriends a pioneer family in trouble and helps them get a start in the Montana territory with help from his friends Abe and Moses. But tranquility is not to be as a renegade killer named Crawford passes their way—out for revenge. With war on the horizon Jeb will cross paths with more old allies, mountain men Ty and Jarel.