Chaparral Range War (9781101619049)

by Richards, Dusty

  “We don’t necessarily trust them,” Guthrey said to Collier. “They could take all day to count the signatures or even destroy enough to make the election void.”

  “Then,” Brown began, “what can we do about that?”

  “The governor promised me deputy U.S. marshals would be in charge of every box,” Collier said.

  “Good. Guthrey showed us your letter,” McCall said and they all nodded.

  “Now how do we get by the county clerk?” Guthrey asked.

  They all laughed. They were back to the first problem again.

  “I’ll handle that,” Collier said. “Leave me the petitions. I’ll get this taken care of in the next hour.”

  “How soon can we have elections?” Guthrey asked.

  “Twenty-one days.”

  Good, Guthrey decided. He would be married in a week and that matter would be done with, leaving clear time for the election. Now they needed to get out the votes. No end to the details in this business.

  “As soon as this referendum is passed by the voters, the governor will appoint you sheriff and in charge of the county until new people are appointed. Elections for offices will be held in the fall.”

  It was time he sent telegrams. If three of his former Ranger buddies would come and help him, he’d have things handled in a minimum number of days. But the only man he trusted to send even a coded wire to them was Tommy. Perhaps he needed to send someone besides himself over to wire them so no one got suspicious about his actions.

  Where would he start? Wire Todd Bowles in Denton. He could be the team leader for one team he planned to gather. Then Chuck Magio, the wild Italian stallion. He should be in San Angelo at this time. And then Gus Agnew in Fredericksburg. He used the judge’s desk and writing implements to pen three telegrams.

  I’m in Stewart’s Crossing, Arizona Territory, and need your professional help to clean up an entire county. I will be in charge June 19 and will have horses and deputies ready to ride with plenty of warrants and good men to go along to back you. If you can come out here and help me, I’ll have you home in two weeks or less. Wire me at P. Guthrey, Soda Springs, Az T.

  “Brown, to keep things quiet, I need you to take these three wires over to Tommy. Have him wire them and not let out a word about them.”

  “How will he connect with you with responses?”

  “He can find a boy on a fast horse to bring their answers to the ranch, and we’ll pay him a dollar when he hurries over.”

  Brown nodded and went off to send them. Guthrey would need to talk to Dan when he got back. He spoke to the group. “We’re going to need about sixty freshly shod horses at the ranch to use around the morning of the twentieth. I’ll get Dan to line them up and have them ready. We may need to buy a load of good hay and some grain out of our fund. Can we do that?”

  McCall nodded. “We can handle the hay.”

  “I will need you and Brown to invite the toughest ranchers you know to be there on the nineteenth and ready to ride that night.”

  “Ride at night?”

  “Yeah, Rangers always like to wake the ones they go to arrest at sunup. They are the least organized at that time.”

  “I’m learning,” McCall said. “Will those guys you send the wire to drop everything and come help you?”

  “I think at least two of the three will do that. Maybe all of them, though there is also the chance that maybe none will come. If they don’t come, I’ll have to go to plan B.”

  “What’s that?” McCall asked

  “I ain’t got it figured yet but I will if I have to. Dan will borrow sixty-some horses and we need to find some tough men to back us on the sixteenth. We’ll need some tents to put folks in. Any ideas?”

  McCall said, “There’s enough around that folks use for camping or even staying over for church at the schoolhouses. I can get some of them and have them set up at the ranch.”

  “Great. What am I leaving out?”

  “A jail big enough to hold all of them. A cook to feed them, and the guards,” Collier said. “Along with handcuffs.”

  “We can use locks and chains if we need to, maybe build a temporary prison out of barbed wire.”

  “This might be a real big job to house and feed them. You have a jail full now here at Soda Springs.”

  “I’ll have the deputy U.S. marshals handle the jail for a few days,” Collier said.

  Good enough. They’d have enough things lined up to handle matters.

  Guthrey rode home with his head full of ideas for things that needed to be done. Dan, Noble, and Cally all rushed out to greet him.

  “We have lots settled,” he said, dismounting and pulling his latigos loose. “The Mormons are going to set up tents here to house the deputies overnight. Dan needs to borrow about sixty shod horses to use on our raids. I wired for three of my old Ranger cohorts to come help us.”

  “Will they come?” Noble asked.

  “I think all or some of them will come if they can. That means we can get married as planned,” he said turning to face Cally.

  “Can we have the wedding at the schoolhouse this Saturday?” she asked.

  “I don’t know why not. That nice young minister from Clawson might do it.”

  “I’ll find out. That will predate my date by two days, but it’s still in June.”

  He went and hugged her. “And you’ve got it two days closer.” Then he kissed her.

  Her laughter rang out and he walked Dan outside. “I know we can’t totally surprise them, but we can try.”

  “We’ve got more company coming.” Dan frowned at the three young men coming up the ranch road. Dressed in suits and string ties, they looked like businessmen under their simple felt hats.

  “I’ll see what they want.” Guthrey had no idea, but they looked important. He greeted them. “How are you and what may I do for you?”

  “My name is Wisdom, Jory Wisdom. I am a law clerk, so are these other two. Judge Collier sent us up here to ready the arrest warrants for you. This is Christy Halman and the last man is Glen Heffner. The judge said for us to get up here, find us shelter, and get ready.”

  “We have a wall tent that you three can pitch to stay in. Dismount and I will introduce my wife-to-be, Cally Bridges.”

  She fixed them some late lunch. Jory explained how they’d build a list of the suspected raiders and make warrants out for them. When those subjects were arrested and brought in, each of the prisoners would be offered one of two choices. If the only charge was terrorizing folks, they could stand trial and, if found guilty, serve three years in Yuma. Or they could plead guilty, answer all the questions put to them, and get off serving one year down there. He added that they would have two of the jail wagons ready to haul the prisoners down there when that day came.

  Judge Collier was certainly thinking well ahead. Guthrey personally needed more information about how to run the county offices. How did the county pay bills? How much money was in the county treasury anyway? Judge Collier could learn that from the town banker. Guthrey scratched that on his notes. They’d need a treasurer and a set of supervisors. A citizens council might help in solving all of his questions.

  He’d need a list of honest folks to head up those operations and give him help appointing folks. It was like they pushed a landslide over on top of him. If he’d lived there for years he’d know them, but he didn’t. Well, in six months’ time he’d know them all better.

  When he leaned back in the chair, Cally came by and asked, “Will our wedding mess up all your business?”

  He tipped back the hat he still wore and grinned at her. “No, it will work in fine.”

  “I feel like some small spoiled little girl about this marriage business.”

  “I was only teasing you. Don’t worry.”

  She rubbed
his stiff shoulders from behind. Her fingers began gouging deep into his stiff muscles. “I’m glad you put up with me.”

  “Keep rubbing. I can stand a lot of that.” He had never realized how tied up his back was. Must be the tension of the job ahead that had him in knots.

  “This marriage is for you and me anyway,” she said.

  He agreed. Then he made some more notes before he swung around and caught her waist. “You are the neatest and finest thing that ever walked into my life.”

  “I wondered about a place for us to . . . well, hide after the ceremony. A friend of Dad’s has a mountain cabin up on Mount Graham. Maybe we can borrow it—or is that too far away?”

  “No, that’s fine. That’s north of here, right?”

  “Yes. Could we go there for a few days, maybe a week, for our honeymoon?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll get hold of him. It is pretty up there, and it will even be cool.”

  He had done enough bookwork for the time being and rose. With a hug and kiss for her, he went outside. Noble had gone to Soda Springs with the rest of the petitions for Judge Collier that they’d rounded up. Dan was off to borrow tents and horses. Now Guthrey had to check on his law clerks. He discovered when he rounded the house they must be campers. The first tent was set up and looked good.

  He spoke with the three young men lounging around the tent. “I guess you need to talk to folks about who they’ve seen riding on the raids. We need the names of individuals who have been riding with those raiders. Many were unmasked and known by name. Maybe people are ready to spill about them now that it appears we may succeed in getting them out of the country. When Noble gets back, he could take you out to meet many of these folks and you could get names from them.”

  “There is a murder warrant too,” Jory said.

  “Yes, there was a shooting that eventually killed Ted Rawlings. One of the shooters is in the Soda Springs jail. He was wounded but still alive last I checked. A second man is one who has been raping any woman he wanted to. Before, no one came forward to report his crimes, but there is a woman coming forward now, and I say more will join her in her effort to get him put away.”

  “Was the other man you arrested at the same time as the murderer an accomplice to that gang?” Heffner asked.

  Guthrey nodded. “I believe he was. He threatened us when we tried to get past him to the doctor. Also another man involved was wounded during the murder and I hear he’s over in the Chiricahuas. His name is Kyle.”

  “There’s a lot to straighten out for us to charge these men,” Heffner said.

  “You know any more about this Kyle? We don’t have him down on our list,” Jory said.

  “When you are trying to get rid of widespread corruption in power, there are bound to be some vague things. I had no deputies to help me run him down.”

  “Oh, Mr. Guthrey, we think what you have done here is amazing, but now we need to finish the job. Put the guilty ones away and clean up this mess following the referendum election.”

  “It still has to pass,” he reminded them.

  The clerks laughed, and Jory spoke up. “Those petitions contained eighty percent of the people who are even eligible to vote. You didn’t need that many, so already we know you will win.”

  Amused, Guthrey chuckled. “I knew those officials had asked for a lot of signatures.”

  “It’s a wonder they didn’t tell you that you needed everyone to sign,” Heffner said, as if he could not believe the situation had even occurred.

  “According to what has been going on here, if you’re shot dead today, there is not a chance that an officer of the law will investigate your murder, so don’t make anyone mad today.”

  They laughed, and he considered what he should do next. People were coming by and offering to help to be sure the election sites had ample protection. He encouraged them to do that. They would look like an armed camp on election day, with deputy U.S. marshals transporting the lockboxes back to Soda Springs, where they would stand over the counting.

  He wondered if those people in Boston that threw the English tea in the harbor had been this mad. In his short time spent in the territory, he had seen the quiet people being run over by the barons. Those same people were well-armed these days, and their memory began to find the names of those thugs who rode with the terrorists. He recalled his early questions. Who were they? They were all masked.

  In the early morning of the twentieth, with the Texas Ranger–style raids that he planned, they were going to cover the prime troublemakers—Whitmore’s headquarters and the rapist Slegal with the ruby ring, as well as his gang, plus Killion, who he aimed to arrest himself and have charged with dereliction of his duties regarding the murder of Cally’s father, Harold Bridges. He could still see the lawman in his expensive suit that morning sitting on his horse acting like Guthrey was less than welcome in the Arizona Territory.

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING, two men in a buckboard arrived, and he recognized them as ranchers from the eastern part of Crook County. He met them in the yard and shook hands with Ute Gleason and Kelly Brightwater.

  “Congratulations, Guthrey, we heard you had most folks in the county signed up to vote for you.”

  “It sounds good. We still need to hold the election. What brings you two over here today?”

  Kelly nodded. “We investigated that cattle rustling deal you got mixed up in. Found out that a guy called Hampton who works for Whitmore was involved. According to what we could find out, they sold those worked-over cattle to Clanton and they were delivered the next week to the Apache agency.”

  Guthrey nodded. “And of course no chance to find the hides and arrest anyone. Those squaws use those hides. Not like a slaughter operation where a check of the hide pile would point a finger at the thieves.”

  “Right,” Gleason said and shook his head in disgust over the matter.

  “We wanted to tell you that several of us will help guard the ballot box sent to Farnam Schoolhouse and the deputy marshal who comes with them.”

  “That’s good. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you again. There’s been lots to do. I want you two to tell your story today to the law clerks down here taking depositions. They are lining up the arrests we plan to make with real names. We will make a huge sweep when we have that appointment, but let’s make it a surprise.”

  They both agreed to his terms, shook hands with him, and then he took them to find Jory. With the two ranchers lined up to talk to the young men, Guthrey told them one day after the election, he’d need some posse men. They were invited.

  “We’ll damn sure be here that day,” Ute said and his partner agreed.

  There were so many details, Guthrey needed a secretary or something. Back in the house he went over all his notes and the timeline he planned. Word was bound to get out about his proposed raids. But if the three Rangers answered his call, he’d have three more professional lawmen to head up the parts of his plan that would swoop up the bad guys altogether in less than forty-eight hours.

  By midday, he realized that all the business about their wedding was also being planned. Several women dropped by. There was hugging, and Cally was busy saying thank you all day.

  Dan came by and told Guthrey he had two loads of hay donated and plenty of good ranch horses promised. The hay would come the following week. Horses the day after the election.

  Cally and one of the other women who was on hand somehow managed to feed them all their meals. Noble rode back after lunch. He and Guthrey talked at the corral where he unsaddled.

  “Tommy sent you word, but there is something afoot,” Noble began. “Three men in suits came and met with the sheriff in a closed meeting in the courthouse for several hours early today. He thinks they are part of the Tucson ring. Says they sent telegrams to the governor protesting the electi
on and seeking writs to stop it.”

  “Any replies to their tries?”

  “Tommy said the governor sent the sheriff a direct telegram saying anyone attempting to stop or disrupt the elections was to be stopped and arrested. Helluva lot of good that would be, huh? That said, we’ll need some level heads in Soda Springs the days before and after the election. They ain’t going to take this business lying down. Tommy also sent word he’s got a boy with a fast horse can bring you any answer to your wires.”

  “Talk to Dan. He’s got hay donated and the horses we may or may not need.”

  “We’d better check the cattle again this week.”

  Guthrey agreed. “Locate some good men to ride through the herd for you and Dan this week and next. You both need to be available if anything breaks loose.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Cally has got some lunch for you to go eat,” Guthrey told Noble.

  “Thanks. I’m amazed how this is all happening.”

  “Yes. You recall me telling you about the rustlers I had to dodge going to Farnam?”

  “Sure do.”

  “Two ranchers from over there told me just an hour or so ago that it was Hampton’s deal and they sold those cattle to the Clantons for a San Carlos Apache delivery.”

  “Those sonsabitches. Can we ever stop them?”

  “Damn right we can, and we will.”

  “You know, I even believe we’re going to do it.”

  Guthrey clapped him on the shoulder. “You take good care of yourself. We’re going to be busy as hell around here.”

  A smile peeled back Noble’s sun-bleached lips and he asked, “You and Cally getting hitched this Saturday night?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll be looking forward to that event. She’s done asked me to walk her up the aisle.” Noble looked ready to burst over it.

  Guthrey thanked him and watched him limp for the bunkhouse Cally had cleaned up for them to sleep in. That old man was a treasure and a good one besides. What else? He realized Cally had joined him and hugged his arm.