by Tabor Evans
“I don’t intend to run,” Longarm told her. “Let’s just sit tight and see if those two hang around tonight or ride on back to Buffalo Falls.”
“It’s midnight,” Longarm said, checking his pocket watch. “And I don’t see a campfire anywhere out there, but I have the feeling those two are still hanging around waiting and watching. Guess I’ll have to go out and pay ’em a late-night visit.”
“Do you want me to come along with you just in case?”
“In case I get shot?” Longarm shook his head. “I can handle this. But if something should go wrong, then you and Crawford need to strike out for Cheyenne. Get him to a judge the moment you reach town. It’s the only way to stop Wade.”
Addie nodded with understanding. “Are you going to take the shotgun?”
“I was thinking about it,” Longarm said, picking up the shotgun and heading for the back door. “I can’t imagine a better weapon to use in the dark.”
Longarm exited around behind the house, and then was careful to keep Addie’s big barn between himself and where he thought it was most likely that Stoneman’s two lookouts were camped. The sky was dark, and he could hear the rumbling of an approaching storm. If the two men that Stoneman had sent were camping without a fire, they were going to be cold and maybe even wet after the storm arrived. It seemed likely that in order to keep up their spirits, they’d have a supply of whiskey. If so, it would make getting the drop on them that much easier.
Longarm moved silently, keeping to the low places so that he could not be silhouetted against the faint light of the moon. The wind was picking up and making enough of a noise to drown out any conversation, but Longarm had a strong feeling that the two gunmen were close.
Just ahead was a small hillock, which Longarm crept up, and then he flattened at its crown. Peeking over the top, he looked down into a swale, and there was just enough moon and starlight to identify the gunmen and their horses camped in some trees. They had a small campfire and no doubt felt that was safe, given that the hill was between themselves and Addie’s ranch house.
Longarm studied the camp for several minutes, and then he began to move. It didn’t take much time for him to sneak up on the lookouts. In the firelight, he could see both men hunched over the flames, looking cold and miserable in the rising wind. They appeared to be asleep, but he knew that they were not or they’d have lain down near the fire.
Standing up not fifteen yards from them, Longarm raised the big double-barreled shotgun to point at the men and said, “Evening, boys! Damn miserable camping out here tonight.”
The two must have barely heard him over the moaning of the wind. One turned his head and stared with his jaw slowly dropping. He started to jump up and go for his sidearm, but Longarm yelled, “Don’t do it or I’ll blow you both straight to hell with this shotgun!”
The man wisely froze, and his friend threw up his arms and a nearly empty bottle of whiskey, yelling, “Don’t shoot, Marshal! Don’t kill us!”
“Both of you turn around with your hands up!”
The men did as he commanded. Longarm went up to the pair and carefully disarmed them, then stepped back and said, “Turn around slow and easy and keep those hands reaching for the stars.”
They were both older than Joel Crawford, but not by many years. And their eyes were pinned on Longarm’s shotgun. To Longarm’s way of thinking, they looked not only cold, drunk, and miserable, but scared half-witless.
“What are you going to do with us, Marshal? We didn’t do nothin’ wrong out here.”
“Maybe not, but you were probably sent to ambush me given the chance.”
“No, sir!” the shorter of the pair protested. “We was . . . we was just lost out here lookin’ for strays.”
Longarm had to laugh. “You sure are a poor liar.”
“Marshal, we didn’t do anything,” the tall, skinny man said. “And if you don’t want us here, then we’ll gladly ride back to town. We’re out of whiskey and were thinking of doing that anyway, because there’s a storm heading this way and it could even bring snow.”
“Boys, I can’t let you tell Stoneman what you saw out here.”
The pair exchanged glances and the shorter one said, “You ain’t going to kill us like you did Casey and the others, are you?”
“I’m tempted,” Longarm told them. “What are your names?”
“Shorty and Ben. I’m Ben,” the beanpole explained.
“I could have guessed,” Longarm told them. “You boys are under arrest.”
“For what!” Shorty exclaimed. “For camping out here in the hills?”
“For . . . trespassing on private property,” Longarm said, knowing it sounded lame. “And I’m taking you to Cheyenne.”
“Cheyenne!” Ben cried. “Why, that’s a damn long ways and the weather is turning to shit! We could get caught out in the open in a damned blizzard and freeze to death long before we could get down to Cheyenne.”
“Life is hard and the road is rocky and long,” Longarm told them. “Get your horses and walk them down to the ranch house. We’ll be leaving for Cheyenne within the hour.”
Ben swore and said, “Well, in case you didn’t know it, Mr. Stoneman’s ranch stands in the direct line between us and Cheyenne.”
“Is that a fact?”
“It is a fact. And in this weather—”
“Is Wade Stoneman at his ranch or is he in Buffalo Falls tonight?”
“I don’t know,” they both said at the same time.
“But if I had to guess, I’d say he’s at his ranch,” Shorty added.
“That makes things more interesting,” Longarm told them. “Get your stuff and grab your horses. It’s time to move out.”
After Longarm removed their rifles from their saddle scabbards, the two hired guns led their horses back to the ranch house. By the time they arrived, it was starting to blow snow and the icy wind was cutting like a knife.
“We’ve got company,” Longarm told Addie as he prodded the two sullen gunmen into her house.
“They look half-frozen,” she said.
“We are,” Shorty told her. “We were fixin’ to hightail it back to Buffalo Falls when the marshal jumped us. Now he says that we’re going all the way down to Cheyenne in this snowstorm.”
Addie looked to Longarm. “It isn’t a fit night to travel,” she said. “We could freeze to death if the storm turns into a full-blown blizzard.”
“How far is Stoneman’s ranch house from here?”
“It’s only about two miles as the crow flies,” Addie replied. “Why do you ask?”
“I was thinking of paying him a visit tonight, if he’s at home.”
“Are you crazy!”
“I hope not,” Longarm replied. “But it would be the easiest thing in the world to ride right up to Wade’s front door and walk into his house during this storm. Everyone will be asleep and even if he has ranch dogs, they’ll be curled up somewhere out of the wind.”
“But . . . but why would we want to do that?” Addie asked.
“Because,” Longarm explained, “if Wade is home, I can arrest him on the spot and take him down to Cheyenne with us after this storm has passed. It’ll be clean and neat. Even more important, it’ll put an end to all the troubles.”
Addie looked over at Ben and Shorty before she turned back to Longarm. “What about them?”
“I’m going to make them the same offer I made to Crawford. They can testify against Stoneman or they can go to the gallows.”
“Is Joel still alive?” Ben asked.
“He is, and he’s smart enough to see that he needs to cooperate with me in order to bring Wade Stoneman down. So the question is, are you and Shorty of the same mind?”
The pair exchanged glances; then Shorty asked, “Marshal, could you get us prison instead of a hang-man’s noose?”
“And not too long in prison?” Ben added.
“I’ll do my best, if you cooperate and testify against Stoneman.”
&n
bsp; “Then we’re with you,” Ben said without hesitation. “Ain’t that right, Shorty?”
“Sure thing!”
“Good,” Longarm said. “Just be sure you understand that I’ll kill you both if you even think about trying to get free or getting back your guns.”
“You got our words on it, Marshal. We’re done with Mr. Stoneman and siding with you now.”
“Fair enough,” Longarm said. “Let’s get moving.”
“I’ll help Joel get ready,” Addie said, turning for the bedroom. “And we’ll meet you in the barn in a few minutes.”
Longarm nodded in agreement. He could hear the wind howling outside, and he was sorely tempted just to lay low for the rest of the night and wait out the storm. But the possibility of catching Wade Stoneman asleep in his bed and arresting the man for murder was far too powerful to ignore.
Chapter 18
It was the longest two miles Longarm had ever ridden. By the time they approached Wade Stoneman’s big log ranch house, Longarm was frozen to the bone and wondering if he was crazy to have braved this storm. The wind was blowing a gale and snow blasted them straight in their faces. Longarm felt awful about forcing Addie out into this storm, and he wondered if it would kill Joel Crawford.
“There’s the barn!” Ben shouted over the roar of the wind.
They rode their horses up to the big barn door, and they were all so cold they nearly fell to their knees when they dismounted. It took three of them to pry and hold the barn doors open against the wind while they got the horses inside.
Longarm lit a match, and Ben found a lantern. Suddenly, they were bathed in faint light and could see stalls and horses. It was below freezing in the barn, but compared to what they’d suffered out on the prairie, it felt warm and cozy.
“Mr. Stoneman’s horse is in that first stall,” Shorty announced. “That means the boss is in the house.”
“He ain’t our boss no more,” Ben corrected.
Addie said, “Joel is half-frozen and nearly unconscious. I need some help getting him over to that bed of hay.”
“Shorty and me will help you, ma’am,” Ben offered.
After they got the injured young man taken care of, Longarm had the horses placed into the few remaining empty stalls and then he checked his pocket watch. It was a quarter past four o’clock in the morning. He went over to Addie and gave her his shotgun.
“If Ben or Shorty makes any sudden moves, shoot them.”
“We ain’t going to go against you, Marshal!” Ben protested. “There’s no need for her to keep us under gunpoint. Besides, accidents can happen.”
“Sit down beside Crawford and make yourselves comfortable,” Longarm told the pair. “I’m going into the house to arrest Wade. Will there be others in the house?”
“Mr. Stoneman has an old woman who lives there to cook and clean. Her name is Mrs. Boller. There’s also a Chinese servant that chops wood, hauls water, and does the laundry. Other than that, Mr. Stoneman should be alone. There are hired hands sleeping in the bunkhouse, but they won’t be up for another couple of hours. Maybe later, given this storm.”
“How many hands?”
Ben shrugged and looked to Shorty for help, but all he got in response was a blank stare. “That’s hard to say, Marshal. Some of the boys will be staying in town, so I’d guess there could be three or four sleeping in the bunkhouse.It’s where Shorty and I should have been tonight.”
Longarm thought about this for a moment. The most important thing would be to somehow get the drop on Wade. After that, everything else would fall into place. “Is Wade sleeping with a woman in his house?”
“Mr. Stoneman has had lots of pretty women living out here with him, but they usually caused more trouble than they were worth, so now he does his womanizing in Buffalo Falls or Cheyenne.”
“Good,” Longarm said, glad that he didn’t have to worry about shooting a woman. “Where is Wade’s bedroom?”
“It’s in the back of the house,” Ben said. “Go through the big front room and you’ll see a hall down to the right. His bedroom is at the end of it. The Chinaman and the old lady sleep at the other far end of the ranch house. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you to watch out for Fang.”
Longarm blinked. “Fang? Who or what in the hell is Fang?”
“He’s some foreign breed of dog. Big, mean bastard.”
“Where does the dog sleep?” Longarm asked.
“Anywhere he wants,” Shorty said with a smile. “Fang pretty much rules the roost. He bit the Chinaman once so bad the man nearly lost his leg. Mrs. Boller and Mr. Stoneman are the only ones that aren’t scared of him comin’ up behind and taking a hunk out of their hide.”
Longarm wasn’t at all pleased about the guard dog, but at least he was forewarned and would not be attacked by surprise. If absolutely necessary, he would not hesitate to shoot the beast. However, hitting a fast-moving dog in poor light with a bullet was chancy at best, so he said, “Addie, I guess I’d better take that shotgun after all. You’ve got a six-gun.”
“She won’t need it,” Ben promised.
“I hope I won’t,” Addie told him and Shorty. “But you two had better understand that I know how to use a gun and I won’t hesitate to shoot you if you try to help Stoneman.”
“Swear to God that we won’t,” Ben promised.
“That goes for me, too,” Shorty told her.
Longarm believed the pair. However, he was also sure that, if he were unfortunate enough to be killed in that house, Ben and Shorty would turn against Addie as quick as a snake strikes. They were men without loyalty and would go with whoever seemed likely to win.
“Custis, be very careful,” Addie warned. “Especially in respect to that vicious dog.”
“I certainly will.”
Longarm had all the information he needed, so he gave Addie a hug and pushed out through the barn door. If anything, the storm had intensified. It was only about a hundred feet between the barn and Stoneman’s ranch house, but by the time Longarm gained the front porch, his face felt like a block of ice and his mustache had become icicles.
He didn’t expect the front door to be locked and it wasn’t, so Longarm eased his way inside. The front room was immense and dimly lit by candles. Longarm paused for several minutes while he rubbed his frozen hands together trying to get some circulation back into his fingers. He also gave his eyes a little time to adjust to the semidarkness, and soon he could make out a hallwayleading off to the right. He picked up the shotgun and cocked both hammers, then started for it. Halfway across the front room, he heard a low, ominous growl.
Fang!
Longarm spun around just in time to see an enormous dark shadow leaping for his throat. Instinctively, he slashed at the beast with the barrel of his shotgun, and was fortunate enough to crack it across the skull. The animal fell, momentarily stunned as it crashed into a table and spilled an unlit and very ornate leaded glass lamp and shade.
Longarm froze. He was in a bad predicament. Fang wasn’t going to stay down for more than a few seconds, and then Longarm had no doubt that the guard dog would renew his ferocious attack.
What was he to do now? Had the broken lamp awakened Stoneman? Longarm couldn’t be sure of anything, so he charged into the rear hallway, grateful for a thick rug that silenced the pounding of his boots. When he blindly crashed into a door, Longarm found the knob, turned it, and burst into an immense bedroom faintly lit by more candles.
“Hey!” Stoneman cried, sitting up in a massive four-poster, still more asleep than awake. “What the . . .”
Longarm held the shotgun steady in his big hands. “Wade, you’re under arrest!”
It took the former lawman a moment or two to collect his wits, probably because he’d been drinking heavily the evening before. But once Wade Stoneman understood what was happening, he was furious.
“Goddamn you, Custis!”
Longarm was about to say something when he heard a familiar growl. He twisted around and saw Fang
launching himself from the doorway. Longarm instantly dropped and the beast flew right over the top of him and landed on Stoneman in a tangle of snarling confusion.
Before man or beast could recover, Longarm aimed just over their heads and pulled one of the shotgun’s triggers. The blast was absolutely deafening, and Stoneman’s fancy headboard exploded into wood splinters. Fang’s ferocity was instantly replaced by terror, and the big dog dived off the bed and cowered under a bureau.
Wade Stoneman was as pale as his candle wax. His mouth worked, but could make no sound at first.
“Get up and get dressed,” Longarm ordered. “And I don’t have to tell you that I have one more load in this gun and I damn sure won’t hesitate to use it on you.”
The shotgun’s explosion had completely unnerved Stoneman, and he did as Longarm ordered. He was dressed in minutes, and then Longarm herded him out into the front room.
“What are you going to do with me?” Stoneman demanded, finally regaining his composure.
“I’m taking you to Cheyenne where you’ll be brought before a judge and charged with the murders of three city councilmen and a former mayor.”
Wade was regaining his bluster. “Dammit, Custis, you haven’t got any evidence against me!”
“I’ve at least three witnesses in your barn ready to testify against you. And I expect that the boys in the bunkhouse, when they see the way the tide has turned, will sing like songbirds against you in Cheyenne. Your game is lost, Wade. I’m holding all the cards now.”
Stoneman licked his lips and said, “Listen, there’s a lot of money involved. More money than you ever laid eyes upon, and it can be yours for the asking.”
“I thought we both understood that I won’t be bought and have no ambition,” Longarm told his former mentor.
“That’s true,” Stoneman readily agreed. “But you’re not stupid. Custis, name your price. Name it!”
“You’re going to hang,” Longarm told the man.
Stoneman blinked and his eyes drew down to slits. “You’ll never get me to Cheyenne alive,” he vowed. “For that matter, you won’t even get me off this ranch. Not while this storm is on top of us, and not even when it’s passed.”