Jake

by C. J. Petit

  Jake wondered if Joe Packard had spotted Dave when he arrived. If he had, it was likely that Joe was now dead. But when he’d shown up in Joe’s town, Joe had waited until he’d ridden past and then was on his way back before stepping outside. He was a cautious old coot, which was why he might still be alive. He hoped that Joe was even more wary when Dave arrived and could tell him where he’d find his ex-foreman.

  He pulled his Colt-wielding right hand under his rain slicker and stepped out of the livery. He slipped and sloshed his way across the mud and was able to reach the boardwalk on the other side without falling. He made another scan of the street but wasn’t given any added illumination by the storm, so he turned and headed for the run-down saloon that Joe called home.

  There were no batwing or doors of any kind blocking the entrance, so Jake stepped inside but didn’t invade Joe’s residence.

  “Joe! This is Jake Elliott! I met you a little while ago. Can I talk to you?”

  Joe had seen a shadow enter his saloon and almost pulled his Springfield’s trigger. If he hadn’t wanted to waste the ammunition, Jake wouldn’t have had the air in his lungs to shout.

  Joe slowly stepped out from behind the remnants of the bar and asked, “Are you lookin’ for that feller who rode in here on a gray horse?”

  Jake couldn’t see him but faced in the direction of his voice and answered, “Yes, I am. Do you know where he is?”

  “I know where he’s hidin’ out. Why are you lookin’ for him?”

  “He killed my parents and then when he ran from Helena, he killed two deputies.”

  “I knew he was no good. Are you gonna kill him?”

  “Maybe. But I want to ask him why he did it first.”

  “He’s in the old saddlery. It’s at the end of the street on the southeast corner. I’m kinda surprised you didn’t see him.”

  Jake didn’t explain why he hadn’t been able to look as he said, “Thanks, Joe. I’m going to head over there and see if I can surprise him.”

  Joe stepped closer as he asked, “Mind if I come along?”

  “Not at all, but if I were you, I’d stay back a few yards until I find him.”

  “I was plannin’ on stayin’ back a might further anyway.”

  Jake smiled as he turned and left the saloon. He walked along the broken boardwalk to stay dry and glanced down to make sure he didn’t step into a gap between the boards. But his main focus was on the saddlery at the end of the street.

  As he drew closer, he still didn’t spot any light, even though the heavy rain had slowed to a shower. The lightning and its noisy brother were already moving east as well. But the storm wasn’t Jake’s primary interest.

  When he reached the end of the boardwalk across the street from the saddlery, he picked up a familiar scent. He would have asked Joe if he could smell it, but he was too far away, and Joe’s nose probably wasn’t as sensitive as it used to be.

  Jake stepped into the thick mud but kept his pistol under his slicker as he made his way through the muck. As he crossed the street, the smell became more pronounced, and its presence raised his concern and curiosity. Not only was the smell of gunsmoke in the air, but it was thick enough to be noticeable this far away despite the storm.

  He stepped onto the boardwalk before the saddlery and stood off to the side of the open door. After he scraped most of the mud off his boots on the edge of boardwalk, he pulled his Colt out from under his slicker and took a breath. Before he entered the old building, he checked behind him. Joe was a shadow across the street, so Jake turned back to the open doorway.

  He hoped that Dave was either asleep or not looking at the door as he cocked his pistol’s hammer then quietly entered the building. It was even darker inside the rundown room, so it took his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dim light. But even when he was able to make out the shapes in the room, he had a hard time identifying what they were.

  Jake stepped closer to the back window and when he was just six feet away, he stopped. The room was still thick with the smell of recent gunfire, but he knew that no bullets would be heading his way.

  He had no idea what had happened, but Dave Forrest was surely dead. So, he released his Colt’s hammer and returned it to its holster. He didn’t call for Joe but pulled a match from his shirt pocket and ripped it across his belt buckle setting it ablaze.

  What the light revealed was horrific, but Jake still had a hard time understanding what had happened to Dave. He let the match burn until it was about to singe his fingertips. He blew it out and tossed it aside before walking through the only doorway inside the building. After he stepped onto the dirt floor, he struck another match then spotted Dave’s gear and the firepit. He opened Dave’s saddlebags and found bundles of cash, including the seven hundred dollars he’d given to Dave before he began his useless search for his father. He blew out the match before he hung the saddlebags over his shoulder.

  Then he rummaged blindly though one of the panniers until he felt the waxy cylinder of a candle. After lighting the wick, he soon had enough light to return to the other room to try and figure out what had happened.

  Before he reached Dave’s body, he spotted the Martini-Henry lying on the floor nearby. But it wasn’t a rifle anymore.

  He held the candle in his right hand as he picked up the shattered gun. It looked as if Dave had tried to fire a stick of dynamite rather than a cartridge. He suspected that Dave was about to shoot him and the nearby lightning strike that had made the sorrel toss him to the ground had found its way to the tempting steel of the Martini-Henry’s barrel. He didn’t understand the reaction itself, but the power of the lightening must have damaged the barrel and then set off the powder in the cartridge. Nothing else made any sense.

  But after he spent a minute studying the useless rifle, Jake looked down at Dave’s mutilated body and as repulsive as it was, he had to examine the damage to try to understand what had caused such an unusual disfigurement. His head and face were damaged when the rifle exploded, but his chest and upper back were relatively untouched. Below his waist was relatively free of injury, too. But the middle of his body was almost cut in half.

  He was still looking down when a drop of hot wax reminded him that he was still holding the candle. So, he let some of the wax drop onto a thick shelf along the wall and then stuck the base of the candle into the wax puddle before it hardened.

  Jake then yelled, “It’s safe to come inside, Joe!”

  While he waited for Joe, Jake noticed some spent brass scattered about the floor. He stepped to the closest one and picked it up. The bottleneck shape told him that it was meant to be fired by the Martini-Henry. Dave must have had all of the spare cartridges in his jacket pockets when the lightning struck. That massive charge of electricity would have been just as effective as a firing pin for setting off the ammunition. He noticed that Dave wasn’t wearing his gunbelt, or that would have made it even worse, but Dave wouldn’t have cared by then. Dave had been caught by surprise after all, but it was the bolt of lightning that shocked him, quite literally. Jake knew how lucky he had been because if it hadn’t flashed from the sky at that moment, he would have received his own fatal surprise.

  Jake wasn’t sure if he was relieved that he wouldn’t have to shoot it out with Dave or angry that the man who’d murdered his parents hadn’t even known what hit him. Jake thought that the punishment was too sudden and too merciful. But there was no denying his frustration of not being able to ask him why he’d killed his parents. Now he’d never have his answer. At least not in this lifetime.

  When Joe loudly entered, Jake was startled.

  “Holy mother of God!” Joe exclaimed as he looked at the devastation.

  Then he asked, “What happened to that feller?”

  Jake held out the twisted remains of the Martini-Henry as he said, “I think he was getting ready to shoot me when a lightning bolt struck really close. It must have ripped down the rifle’s barrel and set off the cartridge. But the steel must have bee
n damaged because the barrel exploded into this mess.”

  Joe pointed to Dave’s body and asked, “But he looks like a pair of grizzlies were fightin’ over him for supper. Did the lightnin’ do that, too?”

  “Not directly. See all the brass lying on the floor? He must have had them in his pockets when the lightning struck. They went off and pretty much blew his gut open.”

  Joe pushed his old, saggy wet hat back on his head and said, “Well, I’ll be jiggered! I thought I seen damned near everything, but this is the strangest thing my old eyes ever delivered.”

  “I hope I never see anything like this again.”

  Joe then asked, “What are you gonna do with him?”

  Jake looked down at Dave’s body for a few seconds then replied, “I’m not bringing him back. To be honest, I don’t care what happens to his remains. I’ll make you a deal, Joe.”

  Joe rubbed his scruffy, whiskered chin and asked, “What kinda deal?”

  “I figure that you’re Woman’s Breast’s mayor and justice of the peace, so I’ll leave it up to you what to do with the body. You can have his Winchester, all of his supplies in the other room and the horse he was using as a packhorse. I’ll just take this piece of junk that used to be a fine rifle and the gray gelding. Both horses were taken from my ranch, by the way, so they’re mine to do with as I please.

  “I’ll just transfer my saddle to the gray gelding and lead my sorrel back to Fort Shaw. The county sheriff is waiting for me there and expects me to share breakfast with him.”

  Joe snickered then shook Jake’s hand as he said, “You got yourself a deal, Jake. You ain’t leavin’ tonight, are ya?”

  “I’m young and stupid, but not that stupid. I’ll set up my bedroll in the livery and ride out in the morning as soon as possible. I don’t want to delay Sheriff Zendt’s breakfast.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. And I don’t figure you’re even close to bein’ stupid, Jake. You sure are young, though. Now you can head back to your ranch and maybe you’ll live to be an old codger like me.”

  Jake grinned then tapped Joe on the shoulder and left the saddlery carrying the remains of the Martini-Henry and with the money-stuffed saddlebags hung over his shoulder.

  By the time he reached the livery and began unsaddling the sorrel, the rain had stopped. Soon the storm would be pummeling the Elk and Jake hoped that Sara was already sleeping peacefully under the quilts before it arrived.

  _____

  Sara was under the quilts, but she was neither sleeping nor peaceful. But it wasn’t because of the storm which hadn’t started pounding the area. She knew it was coming but was more annoyed because she knew that it would delay Jake’s return for another day. She thought that he and the sheriff would be spending the night at Fort Shaw before riding to Woman’s Breast the next day.

  As she lay in the dark, Sara prayed that Jake wouldn’t be hurt, but still hoped that he’d be able to hear Dave Forrest’s confession before he died. Whether it was from a gunshot wound or the hangman’s noose didn’t matter. She knew how much Jake was troubled by not knowing what had happened on the second of July.

  CHAPTER 13

  Jake awakened even before the predawn lightened the sky. It wasn’t because he was fully rested. As he slept, a barn owl had left its nest in the eaves of the barn to make its delayed hunt now that the storm had passed. When he returned with a fat deer mouse for his lady and their three chicks, he landed on the beam directly over Jake’s head and began to rip the deer into chunks to share with his family. It was the young owls’ loud clammer for their share of the mouse that served as Jake’s natural alarm clock.

  He was grateful for the wakeup call and slid out of his bedroll. He stepped to the door and was pleased to find a clear sky.

  After answering nature’s call, he returned to the barn and saddled the gray gelding. He set the Martini-Henry’s body onto his bedroll and used it as a wrapper.

  Within twenty minutes, he was ready to go. He had used some of the water that had collected in the rain barrel near the door to wash and shave. Then he’d changed into clean clothes before he mounted the horse that Dave had taken.

  He walked the horse out of the livery leading the sorrel but didn’t see Joe. He figured that it would be like Christmas morning when Joe did leave his saloon. He hadn’t counted the money yet but didn’t believe that Dave had enough time to spend much of it.

  Five minutes later, Jake was riding south on the still soggy trail. It was close to sunrise now, so he knew he wouldn’t be delaying Sheriff Zendt’s breakfast.

  He set the gray gelding to a fast trot as he headed for Fort Shaw.

  _____

  The passing storm hadn’t caused a lot of damage on the Elk but had scattered the herds. By the time Jake was halfway to Fort Shaw, Jack had all of the ranch hands hunting down the wandering cattle.

  Sara had finished her breakfast and was sitting at the table having her second cup of coffee. She’d had a troubled night’s sleep and was even more anxious today than she’d been yesterday after Jake left. Today’s clear weather meant that he and Sheriff Zendt would be riding to that ghost town and would probably come within range of the long-range rifle that Dave Forrest had stolen. She couldn’t even remember the name of the gun, but it didn’t matter. Despite Jake’s assurance that he could avoid being shot at long range, Sara was still unsure if he would be able to return safely.

  What was truly frustrating was her inability to do anything more than wait for him to come riding back down the access road. But that storm would have delayed that wonderful sight for another day. As much as she worried, Sara still believed she had been right to let him go without hesitation.

  She stood and carried her cup down the hallway and after passing through the front door, she sat down on the rocking chair and looked to the west.

  As she focused on the distant horizon, she whispered, “Come back to me as soon as you can, Jake. I don’t even care if you have a bullet wound. Just come back to me.”

  _____

  Jake ripped half of the strip of bacon with his teeth as Sheriff Zendt said, “I can’t wait to see that rifle, or what’s left of it. That’s most bizarre way to go that I’ve ever heard.”

  Jake swallowed then said, “You can’t imagine how strange it was when I first saw his body. Old Joe Packard had it right. It looked like a pair of grizzlies were working on both sides of his middle.”

  Arv took a big bite of his biscuit and as he chewed, he picked up his mug of coffee. He had been surprised to see Jake return so early and thought that he’d changed his mind about going it alone. But when he began telling the gruesome story, he found it much more than just hideous.

  After he washed down the biscuit with some hot coffee, Arv said, “Jake, I don’t mean to sound like some kind of spiritualist, but don’t you think it’s a bit spooky?”

  Jake shook his head as he had mouthful of scrambled eggs, so Arv continued.

  “I mean, the man who killed your father was trying to shoot you with your father’s gun. But just when he was going to pull the trigger, a lightning bolt came down from the sky and stopped him. Don’t you think it’s a bit like, um…I don’t know, divine vengeance?”

  Jake still had his mouth stuffed with the eggs as he stared at the sheriff. He hadn’t even thought of the connection between Dave’s horrific death and his father.

  He finished chewing then swallowed before he said, “I didn’t even think about it, Arv. But if my father did have anything to do with it, you would have thought he’d rather wait until I could make Dave confess. He would have wanted me to know why he’d sent that lightning bolt.”

  “Now we’re both talking like crazy men. Let’s finish our breakfast and go to the livery. I want to see that rifle.”

  “I’m riding the gray gelding, so you can ride back on your new sorrel and trail your other horse.”

  Arv grinned before he popped his last piece of bacon into his mouth.

  As they stood, Arv reached int
o his pocket, but Jake dropped a dollar bill on the table and said, “I’ve got this, Arv. I recovered the money that Dave stole.”

  Sheriff Zendt didn’t argue but just followed Jake out of the diner and headed for Stoker Brothers Livery.

  _____

  It wasn’t even nine o’clock when Jake and the sheriff reached the road to Fort Benton. The sun was blasting its fierce light into their eyes as they rode east at a brisk pace. Arv was tickled to be riding the sorrel and Jake was just anxious to return as quickly as possible to see Sara. He was sure that she was worried, but when she saw him late this afternoon, her concerns would evaporate like last night’s rain. And then he had a story to tell her.

  _____

  Most of the scattered cattle had been driven back to the herds before noon and the men had all returned for lunch before heading back out to find the last of the strays.

  Sara had cleaned the house twice and was running out of things to occupy her mind, so she went into the office and began arranging the books on the shelves by genre.

  Some of the books were obviously chosen by Jake’s mother but she wasn’t sure who had selected the majority of the volumes. After Sara finished her sorting, she walked behind the desk and sat in the heavy chair. She wasn’t a petite woman but felt lost in the wide seat. The chair was a bit intimidating, too. That made no sense to her because it was just a piece of furniture. She hadn’t experienced any ill sensations when she’d decided to use the big bed, so why should the chair bother her?

  She sighed, then stood, left the office and walked to the couch where she sat down. She stroked the cushion beside her and wished that Jake was there. But when he returned in two days, she wasn’t going to give him a chance to sit down.