Curly avoided her eyes. He looked a little pale but he was stubborn. “I don’t know nothin’ about it.”
“You were seen an’ identified by four men, Curly.” Bowdrie’s tone was gentle. “So was Tobe. Everybody in town knew Bentley. That leaves Joslin and the kid. We have no description of Joslin, but the kid was identified by one man and he was caught under suspicious circumstances. If you can save his neck, why not do it?”
She stared helplessly for a moment, then dropped her hands from the bars and turned away with a gesture of hopelessness that caught at Chick’s heart.
“Starr, I knew you were a thief but I didn’t think you were a damned louse! This won’t do you any good.”
“I’ll do myself some good before we get to Texas. I’ll have your hide, Bowdrie. It’s a long road home and I’ll get my break.”
At the door of the IXL Bowdrie paused. “You’d best go home, ma’am. Most outlaws aren’t like him. They are rough men but many of them are pretty decent at heart. I am sorry.”
“Thank you, and I am sorry for what I said. You really tried to help me.” Tears welled into her eyes and she turned away.
He stared after her, and swore under his breath.
The wind had a way of rippling the grass into long waves of gray or green, and it stirred now, rolling away over the sunlit prairie. Bowdrie, astride the appaloosa gelding he had bought in Deadwood, rode beside his prisoner.
Curly Starr, his chin a stubble of beard, stared bleakly ahead. “You won’t get me much further! Ogalalla’s ahead, an’ I’ve friends riding the cattle trails.”
“You talk too much. I’ve prob’ly just as many friends as you’ve enemies among those herds, too. You stole too many horses, Curly. I’ll be lucky if I get you back to Texas unhung.” He paused. “What happened to Tobe an’ Doc?”
“How would they guess you’d ride fifty miles west out of Deadwood? That you’d ride fifty miles out of your way to keep me away from them? But you’re back on the cattle trails now, an’ they’ll find us.”
It had been a hard ride. On impulse Bowdrie had taken his prisoner out of Deadwood on the same night he left Clare Marsden at the door of the IXL. He headed due west, only later turning south and heading for the tall-grass country.
Ogalalla, which lay ahead, was a tough trail town and a dozen Texas herds were gathered nearby. Bowdrie had friends there, as did Starr. When things went well for him, the big outlaw was a friendly, easygoing man who had punched cows with many of the trail hands. Those friends would not forget.
Bowdrie kept his plans to himself. He had no intention of going into Ogalalla at all. He would camp at Ash Hollow, then head south again, keeping west of Dodge on a course roughly parallel to the proposed Nation Trail, until inside the Texas boundaries. At that time he would veer west toward Doan’s Store and Fort Griffin.
“They’ll be good hunters if they find us,” Bowdrie commented. Starr looked at him, but said nothing. He had been watching the stars, and was puzzled.
At dusk they camped in a canyon where a few ash trees grew and which had been named Ash Hollow by Frémont. They made camp close to the spring, and then taking Starr with him, Bowdrie went down to a moist place in the brush where gooseberries and currants were growing. When they had picked a few to supplement their supper, they walked back.
“You takin’ these irons off me? I’ll sleep better if you do.”
Bowdrie smiled. “And I’ll sleep better with them on, so why don’t you just settle down an’ rest? Nobody is going to turn you loose unless you get a smart Texas lawyer.”
Despite their continual bickering, the two men had come to respect and even like each other during the ride. Curly Starr was typical of a certain reckless, devil-may-care sort of puncher who often took to the bad trails when the country was wild. He was not an evil man, and under other circumstances in another kind of country he might never have become an outlaw.
Bowdrie was not fooled by his liking for the man. He knew that at the first chance Starr would grab for a gun or make a run for it. By now the outlaw knew something had gone awry with their planning. He kept staring around at the spring, then the ash trees.
“Hey?” he exclaimed. “This place looks like Ash Hollow, west of Ogalalla!”
“Go to the head of the class,” Bowdrie replied.
“You’re not goin’ into Ogalalla?” Disappointment was written in his expression. “Ain’t you goin’ to give me any chance at all?”
“Go to sleep,” Bowdrie said. “You’ve got a long ride tomorrow.”
When he picketed the horses he took a long look around. Earlier he had glimpsed some distant riders who rode like Indians.
He slept lightly and just before daybreak rolled out of his blankets and got a small fire going. Then he went for the horses. He was just in time to see an Indian reaching for the picket pin. The warrior saw him at the same instant and lifted his rifle. Bowdrie drew and fired in one swift, easy movement. Grabbing the picket ropes, Bowdrie raced back for the shelter of the trees.
Curly was on his feet. “Give me a gun, Bowdrie! I’ll stand ’em off!”
“Lie down, Starr! If it gets rough I’ll let you have a gun. In the meantime, just sit tight.”
A bullet clipped a leaf over his head, another thudded into a tree trunk. Chick rolled into a shallow place in the grass and lifted his Winchester.
An instant he waited; then he glimpsed a brown leg slithering through the grass and aimed a bit ahead of it and squeezed off his shot. The Indian cried out, half arose, then fell back into the grass. A chorus of angry yells responded to the wounding of the warrior.
Bowdrie waited. This was, he believed, just a small party on a horse-stealing foray, and two of their number were down. His position was relatively good unless the Indians decided to rush them. Which they promptly did.
Dropping his rifle as they broke from the brush and arose from the grass, Bowdrie drew both six-shooters. He opened fire, dropping the nearest Indian; then with his left-hand gun he got the man farthest on the right. Then they vanished, dropping into the grass and the brush. One warrior was slow in getting under cover and a rifle boomed behind Bowdrie and the Indian fell.
Bowdrie turned swiftly, covering Starr. The outlaw grinned at him. “Had to get in one shot!” he protested. Yet Bowdrie saw the man had started to swing the rifle to cover him. Only his quick turn with the pistol had stopped it.
He grinned again. “Hell, Bowdrie, you can’t blame a man for tryin’!”
He nodded toward the area beyond their brush screen. “No real war party, just huntin’ horses an’ a few scalps.”
An hour later they were on their way. It was short-grass country now and would be all the way back to Texas. There might be occasional belts of tall grass, but it was going to be scarce. Bowdrie kept them moving at a stiff pace, knowing Starr’s followers would almost certainly figure out what had happened. He could not avoid them much longer.
Undoubtedly even now they were working their way west to cut his trail, and when they came, it would be fast.
When they did come, it was a surprise. Bowdrie had holed up in a deserted cabin in the upper Panhandle of Texas. Theirs had been a long, hard ride under blazing suns, cold nights, and sometimes showers of pounding rain. As they reached the cabin, Starr said, “You’re goin’ to a heap of trouble just to hang a man. Why don’t you let me go?”
“Hangin’ you isn’t important,” Bowdrie replied, “but I’ve got a job to do and you’re part of it. The day has come when a man can no longer live by the gun. Two men were killed in that robbery of yours. Both of them had wives, one of them had two youngsters.
“Hangin’ you won’t bring back their father or that other woman her husband, but it might keep some other father or husband alive.
“Society is not taking revenge. It is simply eliminating someone who refuses to live by the rules.”
Starr swore and spat into the dust. “Get me back to wherever you’re takin’ me, Bowdrie, or by the Eter
nal you’ll have me converted! But keep them guns handy, boy. If I get a hand on one of ’em, I’ll have a chance to be glad you aren’t leavin’ a widow!”
“Get busy an’ pick up sticks. We’ll need a fire for coffee.”
On the edge of the hollow where the cabin lay, Chick paused and took a careful look at the surrounding country. His nerves were on edge, and in part it was due to the long ride with a man who was ready to kill him at any slight chance, a man with everything to gain and nothing to lose. Around the next hill or down the next draw his friends might be waiting.
Doc Bentley, Joslin, and the rest were all plainsmen and by now they would have figured out what he was doing and they would expect him to turn east, which he must do to deliver his prisoner. Also, they were on the edge of Kiowa-Comanche country.
Bowdrie studied the situation. The adobe cabin was built in a hollow in a rocky canyon with a spring close beside it. There were a few cottonwood trees, and a couple of huge tree trunks that lay near the cabin. The view from the door overlooked the trail and the approach to the spring. The cabin had often been a refuge for buffalo hunters and had figured in many a brush with Indians, judging by the bullet scars.
With an armful of wood on his left arm, Bowdrie walked back to the cabin. Working with the handcuffs on, Curly Starr had a fire going. He looked up, smiling.
“As long as they sent a Ranger after me, I’m glad they sent one who could cook. I believe I’ve gained weight on this trip.”
Bowdrie built his fire of dry wood to eliminate smoke. Earlier, crossing the plains, he had killed an antelope. Now he cut steaks and began to broil them. He knew better than to relax.
“Always keepin’ an eye out, aren’t you?” Starr said. “I see you’re pretty handy with a gun, too. You’ll have to be if you ever tangle with Doc or Joslin.
“That Ernie’s a pretty hand himself, you know. I had an idea he might try to cut me down someday. He wanted to boss the outfit himself, but he’s too bloody.
“Between the two of us, it was Doc an’ Joslin who did the killin’. I led them to that bank and I wanted the money, but I never figured on no killin’.”
“Then why don’t you give the Marsden kid a clean bill, Curly? He’s young enough, an’ he might turn into a pretty decent man.”
“Or he might turn into a country lawyer.” Starr glanced at him. “That pretty sister of his must have sold you a bill of goods.”
A quail called out in the tall grass beyond the cottonwoods. There was a shade of difference in Starr’s tone when he added, “She seemed like a mighty fine girl, at that.”
Bowdrie was squatted beside the fire. His ear caught the change in Starr’s tone. It had come right after that quail called. He pushed the coffeepot against the glowing sticks, pushed others closer.
He glanced around casually. Starr was sitting up more and he had drawn one foot back so the knee was bent and the foot was flat on the ground. His hands, still in the cuffs, lay loosely on his right side. At an instant’s warning he could roll over and make a run for it.
Bowdrie’s mind raced. His rifle was twenty feet away, leaning against the wall of the adobe cabin. He was between it and Starr. Starr’s best bet if Bowdrie was attacked was to run for the shelter of the cottonwoods, climb a horse, and get out of there. As for himself, he would never make the cabin. He would have to fight it out right here, behind that log.
There was no sound but the bubble of coffee in the pot. He tossed Starr a cup. “Here!” he said.
Curly grabbed it but his eyes sparked. Bowdrie knew where they would be, among the cottonwoods. The toss of the cup had put Curly off guard, but for the moment only.
Curly had but one thing to do. To get away. Bowdrie had to both keep his prisoner and fight off three gunmen.
Bowdrie heard a rustle among the leaves and he turned, drawing as he wheeled. He fired into the brush from which the movement came, and as he fired Starr dropped his cup and lunged to his feet. Bowdrie had anticipated the move and he swung back and down with the barrel of his pistol, stretching Starr unconscious beside the fire.
Bowdrie dropped behind the log and snapped a quick shot at a stab of flame from the brush. Rolling over, he crawled the length of the log, getting closer to the doorway and his rifle.
“Hold it, Bowdrie!” a voice called. “Turn Starr loose an’ you can ride off!”
It was the moment he wanted, for they would be listening for his reply and not poised to shoot. With a lunge he was through the door and inside the adobe house. Two bullets struck the doorjamb as he went through.
“You boys come in with your hands up,” he called, “and I’ll see you get a fair trial!”
“You’re a fool!” somebody grumbled. “You haven’t a chance. We’ll burn you out!”
“Anytime you’re ready!”
The fire was blazing brightly and to approach the cabin they must make a frontal attack. He reached around the doorpost and got his Winchester.
In the corner of the adobe was a huge pile of sticks, part of it a pack rat’s nest, part of it wood for the fireplace, left by nameless travelers. Taking up one of the sticks, he tossed it into the fire. As the fire blazed up, he detected a slight movement from Curly Starr.
“Curly,” he spoke loud enough for the outlaw to hear, “don’t make any sudden moves. If you try to escape, I’ll kill you. I don’t want to, so don’t push your luck.”
He waited, and all was still. Nobody wanted to rush him as long as the fire was burning brightly. He threw another stick into the fire. In the next half-hour three of the five sticks he threw landed in the fire. Yet it was a long time until morning.
Starr had witnessed the brief battle with the Indians and had no idea of taking the risk. He reached for the coffeepot, snared it and a cup, and calmly filled the cup.
“Thanks, Bowdrie. All the comforts of home!”
“I should have hit you harder,” Chick replied cheerfully. “You’ve a thick skull.”
“You hit me hard enough. My head feels all lopsided. Why don’t you be smart and turn me loose?”
“They’d kill you,” Chick said.
“Kill me? Are you crazy?”
Although the outlaws could hear him talking, they would not be able to distinguish the words.
“When the shootin’ was goin’ on, one of the bullets was aimed for you. Missed by mighty little.”
“You’re lyin’! Doc an’ Tobe are my friends!”
“What about Joslin?”
Curly Starr was silent.
After a while he threw another stick into the fire and somebody shot at him, but the bullet was high. Later, he glimpsed the flickering light from a fire back in the trees, sixty or seventy yards away.
Starr spoke suddenly. “Did you mean that? About the shot?”
“It hit the log right over you, and couldn’t have been aimed at me.”
Bowdrie waited, studying the fire. He could barely see it flickering but decided to take a chance. Lifting his rifle, he fired three quick shots. He was shooting through underbrush, which might deflect a bullet, but at least one shot got through. Sparks shot up from the fire and somebody swore.
Later, he must have dozed, because he awakened with a start. Undoubtedly the outlaws were waiting until morning, not relishing an attack past the firelight.
Bowdrie crawled to the hole where the spring was. The old gourd dipper was probably dusty, but … He dipped up water and poured some over his head, then dipped again and drank.
The spring was right outside the wall, but the first resident or someone later had removed adobe bricks so the spring could be reached without going outside in case of an Indian attack. Suddenly Bowdrie got out his knife and began digging at a brick beside the hole. Carefully he removed several of the crumbling adobe bricks. Then he tossed a couple of sticks on the fire.
Returning, he slipped through the hole and flattened against the rock wall beyond the spring. He waited, but nothing moved.
Placing each foot with care, h
e moved away from the house. By the time he was close to the fire the sky was growing gray. One man was asleep, the other was placing fuel under the coffeepot. He was about to step out when the sleeping man opened his eyes and got to his feet suddenly. His eyes focused on Bowdrie, realization hit him, and he gave a startled yip and went for his gun. Bowdrie fired, but the man was weaving and his bullet missed.
A bullet whipped past his face, another hit his holster, half-turning him with its force. He fired again and Doc Bentley fell back against a tree.
Bowdrie swung his gun to Tobe, who, startled by Doc’s surprised move, had shot too fast. Bowdrie’s bullet caught Tobe Storey in the middle of the stomach and he stepped back and sat down. He started to lift his gun but could not. He fell sidewise and lay on his shoulder against the ground.
Bowdrie swung on Doc but the gunman lifted a shaky left hand. “Don’t shoot! I’ve had it.”
“Throw your gun over here. With your left hand.”
The gun landed at his feet. “Where’s Joslin?”
Doc made a feeble gesture with his left hand and, thumbing shells into his right-hand gun, Bowdrie ran into the woods. Suddenly he heard an outburst of firing at the cabin.
Ducking through the woods, he ran up to the fire. Ernie Joslin was standing over the fire. He was unsteady on his feet but he held a gun.
He turned toward Bowdrie, lifting his gun. Bowdrie fired. Joslin stood for an instant, then fell flat, all in one piece. Bowdrie walked over to him and kicked the gun from his hand.
Joslin was staring at him, his face against the ashes and earth. “If I’d known who you was there at first—”
“I knew who you were. I knew you by the cigarette. You threw it away too late. You said you’d never been south of Wichita, but folks around Deadwood don’t smoke cigarettes. It’s a Mexican habit, although it’s workin’ its way north, I expect. Men up Dakota, Montana way smoke cigars. Up north they think cigarettes are kind of ladylike.”
He turned to Starr. “Take off … take off these damned cuffs,” Starr pleaded. “I don’t want to die with ’em on.”
Starr coughed, and when the coughing was over and the cuffs were off, he asked, “You got him?”
The Chick Bowdrie Short Stories Bundle Page 20