At some point, after everyone ate their fill and people were beginning to head home to nap or do chores, us Regulators found a way to excuse ourselves to talk privately behind the building.
“Are they sure he’s dead?” I heard Henry ask Doc.
“Are they sure who’s dead?” I said as Charlie and I joined them. “Make my day. Tell me it’s Brady...or better yet, Dolan.”
“No,” Doc said. “Heard rumor while we was eating that Tom Hill was killed yesterday durin’ an attempted robbery at a sheepherder’s camp near Tularosa.”
“Well there’s some good news, boys!” I said, leaning my back against the building until a stink beetle came crawling over. With a shudder, I stood back up.
Dick walked over looking pale and ill. He barely was able to nod at us as he shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the nearby tree.
“That’s not all either,” Doc said, now that he had everyone’s attention. “In the process of the botched robbery, Jessie Evans got shot in the arm, shatterin’ his wrist, then fled to Shedd’s Ranch. Once there, he got arrested by some railroad constable and taken to Fort Stanton.”
“Well, that’ll be nothin’ more than a slap on the wrist at Stanton,” I said.
“If it’s the correct wrist, it’ll hurt a lot,” Fred pointed out.
This made me laugh. “Too true. Serves that bastard right. Both of ‘em. So, what’s our next move, Dick?”
We all looked over at Brewer, who’d not said a word, just stood there quietly as usual. Thing was, his eyes looked unfocused, and he seemed exhausted. Remembering it wasn’t that long ago that he’d had smallpox, I wondered if he was having a relapse.
“Dick?” I prodded, when he didn’t reply at first.
“I say we lay low for now,” he finally said. “Of the three men who cornered John, two are now dead and the third is in jail. We take that win, and we wait for the rest to get sloppy. Besides, there are crops and chores at my ranch that need my attention. I’m heading home for a bit. If anythin’ big happens, Billy, you come on out to let me know.”
With that, he turned and walked off, which wasn’t his usual way of doing things at all. Nor was it like him to state for me specifically to do anything.
“That’s it?” I said, following him. “You’re gonna go tend to your farm while we what, just hang about waitin’ on you to be done?” When he didn’t respond, I naturally reached out to grab his shoulder and turn him around. Without thinking, I grabbed the left one.
Dick yelped in pain and turned around angrier than my question should’ve made him. “Yes, that’s it! Now go play poker or steal something, that’s what you do, isn’t it? I have honest work to tend to.”
“Hold on there!” I said. “You know damn well I’m good at a lot more than stealin’ horses or playing Monte. What is going on with you? You look like shit. Are the smallpox comin’ back?” I asked, keeping my voice down on my last sentence.
His long face filled with sadness. “No, it’s not that...and I thought that was bad. Just...just let it go, okay? It’s the tenth. I’ll come into town on the twenty-fourth, and we’ll figure things out. Our silver ammunition should already be at the Ellis Store by now. We’ll pick that up and get back to work. That gives me two weeks to tend to the farm and you all two weeks of freedom. Enjoy it. Because when I come back, we’re going to go after the rest of them.”
“Now that’s what I wanted to hear!” I said. “Go do your work, farmer boy, and we’ll meet up at Ellis’s in ten days.” I carefully tapped his right arm this time and turned around to go back.
“Billy?”
It wasn’t my name that brought me to a halt, but the slight desperation behind the word that stopped my feet from moving. Turning about, I said, “Yeah?”
“If I don’t show up on that day, come make sure I’m okay, would ya? Don’t bring the whole team, maybe just Middleton or French. All right?”
“Uh...okay...we can do that.”
“And keep that between us for now,” he asked, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his right arm.
“Is everything okay, Dick?”
He tried to smile, but it barely showed. “I hope so.” Turning, he walked off, and I stood there with no idea what to say.
By Monday morning, I was still stuck on the strange plan Brewer had asked me to follow. Because of that, when I ran into Charlie and Fred while tending to my horse, I lied to them, saying Dick wanted me to ride into town and get our silver ammunition. I sweetened the pot by saying while I was there I’d pick up anything they wanted and ask for news on Hill and Evans.
“You’re not going now, during the day, are you?” Charlie asked, as he worked knots out of his mare’s tail. “Someone will see you and turn you in.”
“Good point. I’ll leave just before sunset, that way I get to Lincoln around dark.”
“Okay. Well, maybe you should send word through the Regulator Network and let Isaac know you’re coming. That way he can make sure no Murphes are around tonight.”
“First off, did you just call the Murphy/Dolan faction, Murphes? And second, I’m not so sure about that network Garrett told us about. Think we can really trust that Regulator Network Liaison that couldn’t get here in time to save John?”
Fred spoke up. “No better time than the present to find out.”
He was right. “Fine, I’ll try to find the spot here in town when I’m done and not leave until it’s safe from being seen.”
This was a lie, too. I wasn’t safer for leaving later. The moon was already up and wouldn’t set until around one in the morning. Thus, there were worse things than being seen and turned in for being an outlaw...there was dying by the jaws of a werewolf.
I went into a saddlebag and pulled out the small box of toothpicks Garrett had given me. On the inside of the tin was the symbol of the Regulator Network: a circle inside a circle with the skeleton of a wolf’s head in the center. Unsure where to go, I just began to wander town, stopping to chat with friends here and there.
Garrett said that Tunstall had found places for dropping off information in both Lincoln and San Pat, but so far, I’d found nothing resembling the odd circle anywhere. That was until I wandered through the graveyard near the church.
Staring down at the rectangular stones outlining one of the bodies in the cemetery, I saw the symbol engraved into one of them. Squatting down, I laid my hand on it, surprised to find it wasn’t cool to the touch like the rest of the rocks. Pressing on the circular symbol with my thumb, it depreciated. With a click, a drawer under it opened. Pulling it out farther, I found a space lined with white muslin, containing a pencil and a small rolled book with a leather cover.
Pulling it out, I unwound the leather strand that held it closed and found it to be a notebook of sorts. Taking the pencil, I wrote my note, ripped it out of the scroll, folded it up, and addressed it to Isaac Ellis. Putting all three items back in the hidey-hole, I left the paper on top, and slid the stone back in until it clicked into place.
Making sure no one saw me, I leisurely moseyed past the church, where a young man with blond hair sat on the steps.
“Afternoon,” he said as I walked past.
“Afternoon,” I replied, hoping he didn’t ask me what I was doing in the graveyard.
“Lightnin’, lazy, or leave it?” he asked.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m sorry?”
He pulled out a tin case like mine, opened it, and pulled out a toothpick, which he stuck in his mouth. “Fast delivery, take my time, or someone else is comin’ for it?”
Now I understood. This was our Regulator Network Liaison. “Lightnin’.”
“You got it.”
Without another word, he fetched my note and was gone.
I walked back to find a lot of the Regulators talking about doing some training while Dick was off working on his ranch. Doc was game to lead the group, and I thought it was likely wiser than sitting around here waiting for the law to come grab us u
p.
“Wait to leave until MacNab gets back,” I said. “My guess is he’ll get here tomorrow. If I’m not back by then, I’ll join y’all when I return. Just leave me a message on where you go.”
“With who?” Doc asked.
“Not who, where.” I told them about the network box in the graveyard.
Around half past five, I packed up and left for Lincoln, arriving just after the sun set. I tied my horse in the corral behind the L-shaped building and knocked on the back door. A tall, slender young man in his mid-to late-twenties opened it.
“Hey, Ben,” I said.
Isaac’s son grinned, hazel eyes shining. “Heard you was comin’ by. Get on in here; my dad’s waitin’ for ya.”
“Thanks.” I took off my hat as I entered the store section of the building and followed Ben back to the family’s living quarters. There I found Isaac kicked back in a chair reading by candlelight. “I hear you got my message.”
He set his book down. “Hey there, kid. Yes, I did. Nice fellow, that Roy. Got a message or two from him that McSween sent earlier this week. I didn’t know you knew him, too.”
“New acquaintance.”
“Good one to have. He’s a ghost. Appears outta nowhere and is gone before you can say goodbye. Hell, I don’t even know his real name. I just call him Roy, and he answers to it.” Isaac laughed and stood up. “Back this way. Your stuff arrived yesterday.” He struck a match and lit the wick of an oil lantern. “They’re in the back. I’d have brought ‘em up front, but they’re downright heavy.”
“They? I thought it was one.”
“Two arrived.”
I nodded and followed him into the back of the store. He tapped the top crate of two stacked. Inside it would be the order of silver bullets that Garrett was sending us. I’d planned on taking half and leaving half.
“Did you open it?” I asked, offhandedly.
“Son, do I look like an idiot to you?”
I laughed. “No, sir.”
“Well then, my only question is how are you gonna take it all with you? It’s heavier than you can carry on your own, that’s for sure. Did you bring a wagon with you?”
“Like I own a wagon.”
Isaac smiled. “Well then, what do you wanna do with all of whatever it is?”
“It’s a special type of ammunition. I’d like to take some and leave some, if that’d be okay. We just can’t let the Murphy/Dolan guys find it. How often do they go through your store?”
Isaac set the lantern down. “Not often, but it’d be wise to take them down to the McSweens’ house. It bein’ just a residence and all. Not sure if Susan is back or not, and Alex left town again today after comin’ in to get a few things. But the Shield family should be there in the east wing. I can have it taken down there tomorrow afternoon.”
I considered that, but delivering a bunch of ammunition while the town watched was not a good idea. Taking it after dark was preferred for sure, but the moon was up, and that was something I didn’t want to deal with. More importantly, I couldn’t deal with it alone. Isaac was too old for me to put in harm’s way like that, and George Coe would never forgive me if I did.
That left only one valid idea, and he wasn’t gonna like it. Hell, I didn’t like it, but I asked anyway. “How’s your son Ben with a gun, sir?”
“He’s a downright good shot, he always hits his mark, and...wait a sec, why do you wanna know?”
I explained the dilemma, except I used the word “men” instead of “wolves.”
“Well, that’d have to be Ben’s decision.”
“I’ll go,” Ben said, stepping into the room, holding a lit lantern of his own.
“Were you eavesdroppin’, boy?” Isaac asked, his tone both irritated and amused.
Ben gave his dad a guilty, lopsided grin as he nervously ran his hand through his short, straight, brown hair. “Just a bit. Sorry, Dad.” He turned to me. “Billy, I got a horse who ain’t scared of nothin’. We’ll take her and the smaller wagon. She’s fast, too. We should be able to get down there and back safe enough.”
Silence hung heavy, and I took the opportunity to grab the crowbar and crack open one of the crates to find it filled with small to medium boxes. Smaller boxes would hold the bullets for our revolvers while the medium boxes would hold the needed ammunition for our rifles.
“I’ll leave you boys to organize it as you see fit,” Isaac said. “I’ll bring the horse and wagon around to the back door.”
“Thanks, Isaac,” I said as he left.
I noticed Ben was wearing a cartridge belt and his six-shooter. “You’ll need new ammo for this trip. Trust me.”
“If you say so.”
“Take off your belt. I’ll have you load it up, just in case. Same with your rifle.”
“Any chance you’re gonna explain why, or should I just smile and nod?”
“The latter is a wiser option. In short, it’s goin’ to be a dangerous one-mile ride. Just, know that.” I paused, trying to think of how to change the subject and got an idea. “Have you heard any information about Jessie Evans and Tom Hill?”
Ben began to load his cartridge belt with silver ammunition. “I have. Tom is dead, just like Morton and Baker. Did y’all really kill those two men?”
I sat and began to fill up my belt as well. “We did. Killed them while they were tryin’ to escape.”
“Serves ‘em right, then,” he said, and filled me in on the word he’d heard from customers and the like. It all matched up to what we’d heard, except that he’d been told Jessie’s elbow had been hit, shattering his arm.
“We heard it was his wrist, but either way, son of a bitch is in a hospital in pain and botherin’ no one since he’s under arrest,” I said, finished with my reload.
“Jimmy Dolan broke his leg yesterday.”
“And I thought there couldn’t possibly be more good news!” I joked, standing up and brushing the dust from my knees. “How the hell did he do that?”
“Stupid S.O.B. was on horseback, chasin’ some man who was on foot. He jumped off his horse while she was still at a gallop and busted it good. Drunk as a skunk is what he was. I’ll be surprised if he even felt it break.”
I laughed. “That’s hilarious! Oh, my Lord, wait until I tell the boys.”
“Maybe that’ll slow his mean streak,” Ben said.
There was a pause, and we both looked at one another and said at the same time, “Doubt it.”
After a good belly laugh, we loaded up his rifle, took the crates to the small wagon out back, and after I loaded my Winchester, covered them up and tied them down. Looking up at the sky, I saw a half moon, giving us some light for our ride. I wasn’t sure if the werewolves in Lincoln would be out taking advantage of it as well, but I prayed to God they weren’t.
“Billy?” Isaac said as we were about to leave. “When you get the chance, I have somethin’ for you. From John.”
“John...Tunstall?” I asked, clarifying.
“Yes, that John.”
“Well, what is it?”
“It can wait. Get this done, and I’ll show you later. It’s not a quick affair.”
I could tell there was no budging ol’ Isaac on this, so I nodded, and Ben snapped the reins. We took the winding drive out to the main road and headed west. Winchester on my lap and eyes peeled for wolves, all was fine until we reached the Juan Patron Store. That’s when I felt a tingle go up my spine, and I cocked my rifle.
Ben noticed the change in my demeanor immediately. “Problem?”
“Not sure...feels wrong. Pick up the pace. Not so that we draw attention to the townsfolk but so that we’re not sitting ducks out here.”
Ben urged our horse, who barely picked up speed at all, until she heard a howl that cut the night air clean through. Pulling on a bit of my soul energy, the world brightened to my eyes, and I scanned the area. Because of this, it didn’t take long to spot who was watching us: two wolves running along beside us in the shadows.
; I was about to give orders to Ben when they bolted out onto the road in front of us, causing the old mare to rear up, kick her front feet into the air, and charge toward them. Stunned as I was at the horse’s reaction to two wolves in her way, I was even more shocked when the two wolves split, one going left and one to the right.
The furry beast closest to Ben jumped up to take a snap at him, and I pulled the trigger on the Winchester. The sound could’ve woke the dead and likely would cause ringing in Ben’s ear for a week.
“Oh my God, did you get him?” Ben shouted.
My vision sharpened without my need to pull on the reservoir of soul-energy, and I wasn’t dizzy. “Injured him, didn’t kill him. Hurry up.”
“Like ya have to tell me that!” He snapped the reins, and Mable picked up speed, a determination in her countenance.
If they were gonna come in close, I needed my pistols. I cocked my rifle and set it down at our feet since Ben’s was on the long seat, the barrel behind me. Pulling on extra energy to flood my system for steadiness and strength, I stood up and pulled both six-shooters.
“They are runnin’ along both sides, Billy! What do we do?” Ben yelled as jaws kept snapping up at him, luckily just missing.
“I know, just drive. Don’t make any sudden movement that’d put you in the way of a bullet.”
A wolf leapt up to get Ben, and I shot, hitting the creature in the head.
“No sudden movements? You’re funny. You know we have a crazed horse, right?”
The full weight of the wolf’s life force hit me, and I almost lost balance and fell.
“Shit.”
Racing down the street, I got my bearings and decided I’d only fire at the wolves that got close. There were now three on my right and two on the left. One jumped into the bed of the wagon. I fired at him, and he dodged, my silver grazing the wolf behind him still on the ground, putting a hole through his ear.
The Curse of Billy the Kid: Untold Legends Volume One Page 11