“If you will excuse me, I have things to attend to. It’s time for Juliet’s lessons. Selena will serve your coffee in the parlor.”
Farley joined Jake in the parlor as Selena brought in a tray. Jake poured the coffee and waited for the rancher to speak first.
“I’m sure Juliet will become a fine scholar under your wife’s tutelage.”
“No doubt.” Jake was not in the mood for small talk. “What’s your plan?”
“I thought we might ride out together today. I have been going over in my mind where a man, or men, could hide cattle.”
“What makes you think they aren’t long gone by now? Already sold?”
“I think these rustlers are local. Think about it. If they were merely passing through, we wouldn’t still be losing cattle.”
Jake despised the smug look on the man’s face. “The last two weeks I haven’t had any more stolen.”
“Apparently, neither has anyone else.”
“That’s my point. They’re long gone.”
Farley leaned forward and lowered his voice as if letting Jake in on a secret. “I think not. I suspect they are hiding somewhere close by, and once we leave on the cattle drive, they will move their cattle at the same time.”
“Interestin’ theory.”
“I propose we take a ride west toward Abernathy’s place.”
“You still suspect him?” Jake’s hackles went up at what Farley was suggesting, but he was committed to hearing the man out.
“Perhaps. I say we ride up the hills back behind his place.”
“You figure the cattle are hidden in one of those canyons?”
“I realize it would take a very clever man to drive the cattle up in there.”
“Well, the thought crossed my mind, but I dismissed it. There’s limited grazin’ up there,” Jake said, hoping the man was blowing as much smoke as the rings from his expensive cigars.
Farley’s arrogant tone softened for a moment, and his words turned pensive. “I recall my father talking about a grotto when I was a boy.”
“If there is one, it’d be worth findin’.” At this point, Jake was willing to take a look.
“That is the challenge. As a youth, I had little interest in the ranch and didn’t pay attention to the location.”
“If what you’re sayin’ is true, Cookie or Walters might’ve heard of it.”
“Let’s get as many of our men as we can spare and meet near Abernathy’s place in two hours.” Farley rose from his chair with a self-satisfied look on his face. He retrieved his hat, headed out the door, and rode off.
Jake was glad this little meeting was over. “Cookie?”
“Yeah, Boss?”
“You ever hear of a grotto in the hills behind Abernathy’s place?”
Cookie scratched his chin for several seconds. “I believe Ben mighta mentioned it once.”
“Do you recall where it is?”
“No, but I remember him sayin’ there be a narrow passage into the grotto, and once you’re in there, you be an open target for anyone up on the hills.”
“A box canyon would be a good place to hide stolen livestock,” Jake said. “Funny how Farley sorta remembered that.”
Cookie’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, funny.”
His neighbor’s convenient revelation left a feeling of dread in Jake’s chest. “Gather the men.” Jake took his hat from the peg. “Then get your gear. I want you to come with me.”
***
An anxious sensation passed over Evangeline as the men rode away. “We need to prepare and pray,” she told Juliet and Selena.
“Prepare what, Aunt Evangeline?”
“An infirmary.”
“You think there will be injuries, Señora?”
“I’m sure of it. Thomas Farley is up to something.” Evangeline bobbed her head up and down. “Yes, we need a place for surgery.”
“What about the bathing room?” Selena crossed the dining room and opened the door.
“Perfect. We can lean the tub against the wall. Put in a table and a bed.”
“I asked Solomon to make you a table. I think maybe you might do surgery again. I think about germs.” Selena shuddered and nervously wiped her hands down her apron.
Evangeline appreciated her friend’s foresight. “Is the table finished?”
“I will go ask,” Selena said as she hurried toward the door.
“You could take one of the empty beds from the bunkhouse. Uncle Jake won’t mind,” Juliet offered.
“Is anyone still here to help move things?”
“Just Solomon and Manny. Manny’s momma wouldn’t let him go. I’ll go fetch ‘em.”
Is this how I resume my medical practice? Her mind checked off all she needed to do. Please, God, keep them safe. If there are injuries, let them be minor. Keep my Jake from harm.
She knew it was true—he was her Jake. If anything happened to him today, she would never forgive herself for not being a better wife. Why was it so hard?
She forced those thoughts away. Right now she had a job to do.
CHAPTER 21
Jake sat astride Traveler like a sentinel taking in the scene before him. The majority of the group consisted of Farley’s men with Jake’s crew and a few other ranchers in the mix. Cookie had extra rifles and ammunition in the wagon. Jake recalled battlefield wagons serving as either an ambulance or hearse. A cold shiver sprinted down his back. The craggy hills revealed no entrance into this mysterious canyon.
Cookie pulled the wagon up beside Jake as the sun climbed over the hilltop, causing both men to squint. “Boss, I don’t see nothin’.”
“Me neither.” Jake turned to Farley. “So, where is this canyon your father told you about?”
“About a mile beyond that first bluff, east of here.” Farley pointed, then signaled for his men to head out.
Farley and his men seemed relaxed in the saddle. Jake’s crew and the other ranchers appeared anxious, some with hands on their holsters. He saw Cookie’s pinched expression. “You feel it too?”
“Yeah, too convenient Farley rememberin’ the exact location after all this time.”
“Keep the wagon close at hand.”
Cookie released the brake. “My thinkin’ exactly.”
Jake checked his crew. Walters and Tony rode in front of the wagon. Pete and a few others moved to ride behind it. Jake had sent Bo into town for supplies. If Bart was involved, he wanted the boy to have an alibi. Duke and Artie were still fixing fences and hadn’t made it back. He could have used the extra guns to even things out a bit more.
***
Jake followed his gut by taking the lead with his crew. An overwhelming feeling of dread pushed his desire to get to this hidden canyon before Farley. His instincts had never failed him in the past, and he was counting on them now.
Gunfire rang out. The sound ricocheted off the surrounding hills. Artie’s horse stood grazing up ahead. Jake’s heart tightened when he saw the pony, wondering why Artie would be anywhere near this canyon. Please, Lord, don’t let it be so.
“Look, there’s the entrance.” Tony pointed toward a spot near the mare.
The narrow passage, shaded from the morning sun and overgrown with sagebrush, would have been impossible to find if not for Artie’s horse. Tony dismounted and examined the hoof prints, his firm nod an unspoken confirmation. They’d found the stolen cattle. Tony remounted and, along with the others, followed Jake. The men passed through the entrance single file, led by the sound of muffled voices. A single shot echoed ahead.
Spurring their horses forward, Jake and his crew entered the box canyon. Bart was on his knees, wrapping a bandana around his bloody hand. Duke held his rifle on the man. His horse stood near two men on the ground—Jose De Fuentes, Tony’s cousin, with a bullet between his eyes, and Artie. Jake and the rest of the Double M ranch hands quickly surrounded them. The rest of the search party swarmed in behind them.
“Caught me some cattle rustlers.” Bart held his injured han
d against his chest.
Jake kept his gun drawn. “Not what I see.”
“That’s exactly what I see.” Thomas Farley turned to his men, and they all agreed.
“See, Farley, I got ‘em for you just like I promised.”
“You hired this lying snake?” Jake’s fury threatened to overtake him. A growl escaped his lips. “Men, help this hero to his feet, and take all three back to the ranch.”
“We can take care of our own, thank you,” Farley said.
“Suit yourself.” Jake stared at Bart for several seconds before putting his gun away. “My wife could take a look at your hand.”
“I don’t need your wife to help me. It ain’t much of a wound ’cause the kid ain’t much of a shot.” Bart pushed two of Farley’s men away as they tried to help him to his horse.
***
“Artie’s still breathin’, Boss.” Duke ripped off his shirt and pressed it against the blood flowing from the kid. “He saved my life.” Duke stared daggers at Bart. “That skunk was about to shoot me when Artie raised up and shot the gun out of his hand.”
Jake instructed Duke and Tony to lower Artie into the wagon along with De Fuentes’s body. As soon as Duke climbed aboard, Cookie headed out. Jake stopped Farley before he remounted. “What’s this all about? You take me for a fool?” Anger pushed the fence of calm surrounding it.
“Look around you. This is the rustlers’ hideout. Here is the corral, and the two men responsible are laid out in the wagon.” Farley’s eyes challenged Jake to push the matter.
“Bart is a drunken liar.” Tony spat out the words.
Farley kept his tone and his stare steady. “He works for me. He caught them, killed them, and saved the territory a trial. You should be pleased to get your cattle back.”
Jake stepped closer. “Not at the expense of innocent men.”
“Innocent? Ha! That Mexican is a known cattle rustler. You can ask his cousin about his character.” Farley pointed toward Tony. “As for the kid, some of my men heard him talking in town about needing a sizeable amount of money. He’s sweet on some whore.” A sadistic smile formed briefly on his face. “Wonder how many more of your men were in on it.”
“Seems you got it all figured out.” Jake felt fire burn in his gut. It took all his willpower not to punch the arrogant dandy in the face. But a fight would only end in more bloodshed.
“I usually figure things out quite well.” Farley mounted and signaled his men to head out. His crew made quick work of separating the cattle, leaving the Double M hands to herd their cattle through the narrow opening.
Tony stayed to help Jake investigate. Nothing about it looked right. Jake had no doubt the fresh hay had come from Farley’s ranch.
“Boss, my cousin would not let himself be shot so easily. Jose was always watchful. He had many enemies.” Tony pointed to the bedroll and other items ready to be put on his cousin’s mount. “Jose was a thief, this we all know. But I think he was set up.”
“Lots of things are shady here. Artie must have found this place about the time Bart shot your cousin.” Jake gazed up at the high ridge. “A man would be an idiot to believe Bart’s story.”
“Then why did we let him go? Let’s get the men together and hang the hombre.” Tony’s angry words choked out through clenched teeth. He knelt to gather up his cousin’s things.
“Nothin’ I’d like better. But we got to prove it. Otherwise, we could start a range war, which would suit Farley. Let’s head back and talk to Duke. There has to be a way to prove Bart and Farley were in on this together.” Jake grabbed the reins of Jose’s and Duke’s horses before mounting Traveler.
“You thinking Farley got Bart to rustle cattle for him?” Tony took one more look around before turning his horse toward the opening.
“Probably.” Jake pressed Traveler forward. “Kings always need others to do their dirty work.”
CHAPTER 22
Evangeline heard the creak and rattle of the wagon, but Selena rushed to the door ahead of her. The two women stood in the doorway as Cookie pulled hard on the reins. The horses rose on their hind legs before everything came to a halt.
“Help me!” Duke’s pleas sent Solomon, Manny, and Selena racing to lift Artie from the wagon.
“Bring him this way.” Evangeline’s heart raced as she led the way to the new infirmary. “Put him on the table.”
Duke held pressure on the wound as he helped Solomon position his friend on the table. He began to shake.
Evangeline had never seen this tough cowboy so upset. “Duke, you can leave now.”
“I want to stay.” His face was pale and perspiring.
“No, Selena will help me.” Evangeline’s voice was authoritative as she turned to Cookie and Solomon. “Help Duke before he passes out. Manny, grab the smelling salts out of my bag.”
“What do you need?” Cookie asked over his shoulder as he held Duke up.
“Start boiling more water. I already brought some in. The buckets are by the door. Knock when you’re ready. Selena will take it from you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“One more thing.”
“Ma’am?”
“Pray like you have never prayed before.”
Selena closed the door behind them.
***
Evangeline went to work on her patient as muffled prayers and sobs filtered through the closed door. She placed a mesh mask on Artie’s mouth and administered a mixture of morphine and chloroform.
“This is very bad, Señora.”
“I’m hoping it looks worse than it is.” Evangeline began to cut away Artie’s shirt. To her great relief, there were several layers of padding and corset stays.
Selena helped her remove all the layers. “Ay, Dios mio, el´ es una mujer!”
“Yes, he is a woman. Which is why I kept the men out.”
“How did you know?”
“I treated a few women during the war who disguised themselves as soldiers.”
“Why would a woman do such a thing?”
“Men are paid more for any job they do.” Evangeline wiped away the blood. “A woman I met in an army hospital told me she dressed as a man to help support her family. She worked as an orderly.”
“I understand about money but not fighting.” Selena clicked her tongue as she gathered up the bloody material.
The two worked in silence. Evangeline probed inside the wound for the bullet and deposited the slug in a nearby bowl.
As the last stitch took shape, Selena spoke. “Why would he … I mean she, do this?”
“You can ask her when she wakes up.”
“She will not die then?”
“I feel sure she will recover. The thick padding saved her. I need to watch for infection the next couple of days. She lost a lot of blood, so she’ll need time to recover.”
“What do we do now?”
“We let her rest. We need to find her some kind of nightshirt and move her to the bed. And, Selena … we can’t let anyone know Artie is a she.”
“Si, Señora, I understand.”
“I brung more water.” Cookie’s voice preceded him into the room. Evangeline covered Artie with a clean sheet.
Selena stood in the doorway blocking his view of the surgical table. “Grácias, Cookie. Ask Manny to bring one of his father’s nightshirts.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Cookie strained to see around Selena, but she shut the door before he could.
***
Jake studied Duke’s face, watching the color return as he sat at the table, gripping a coffee mug.
“Why don’t you go to the bunkhouse and clean up? The women will let us know how things are in due time.”
“I will, but I’m comin’ right back, Boss.”
“Sure thing.”
Jake hoped Duke would be ready to talk when he returned. The prayer seemed to help, along with a few cups of strong coffee. Duke’s reaction seemed out of character, and it worried Jake. He’d seen perfectly sane men come
back from the war then fall all to pieces over less traumatic encounters. What had caused Duke to react this way? Up until a few weeks ago, these two men weren’t on friendly terms. And what would happen if Artie died?
Manny returned with the nightshirt and knocked on the infirmary door. Selena grabbed the garment and disappeared before Manny could peek inside.
“You reckon the nightshirt is a good sign?” Cookie asked as he poured coffee.
“I hope so,” Jake replied. “Warm up my cup, would ya?”
Cookie hobbled over and topped off Jake’s cup before returning the pot to the stove.
They sat in silence until Duke returned. He had cleaned the blood off his hands and wore a clean shirt. His jeans still carried splatters of blood.
“Want some coffee?” Cookie asked.
“Nah. I’ve had enough. Sorry I broke down like that, Boss. It’s my fault Artie got shot. I was teasin’ him.”
“About what?”
“You know how Artie always tries to find a tree or bush far away from everyone when he has to relieve himself. We were gettin’ a late start back to the ranch as it was.”
“Is that how he found the entrance?”
“I guess. We had words and he stormed off. The next thing I heard was gunfire.”
“How’d you manage to find where he went?”
“His horse follows him like a dog. The animal was standin’ right near the entrance.”
Cookie chuckled. “Tony trained Artie’s horse to do that as a joke. Good thing he did.”
“I couldn’t get there fast enough to save him from gettin’ shot. But Artie raised up and shot Bart before he could draw on me. Never seen shootin’ like that before. He saved my life.”
“You two had been at the line cabin all night?”
Duke looked uncomfortable and shifted in his chair. “Artie, he uh … left for a while.”
“What for?”
“He leaves at night to go spend time with his sister.”
“His sister?” This was the first Jake had heard of any family members.
“She ain’t here, but he promised her he’d spend some time every night prayin’ with her. He goes off by hisself with the family picture and prays. He told me not to tell the other fellas.”
Secrets & Charades Page 16