“You’ve heard of him?” Duff asked.
“Yeah, he was a peace officer once. People like him give anyone who has ever worn a badge a bad name.”
“The only other name I recall is the one called Cyr. He’s the oldest of the lot, and damn well may be the meanest.”
“Cyr?” Elmer asked, speaking up for the first time. “Would that be Val Cyr?”
“I don’t know. I never heard his first name spoke,” Forney said.
“Well, let me ask you this. What about his right ear? Is there a piece of it missing?”
Forney nodded. “Yeah. Now that you mention it, he is missin’ ’bout half his right ear.”
“Elmer, how is it that you knew that?” Duff asked.
“I know it, ’cause I’m the one that bit it off.”
“My word, you bit off half his ear?” Hanson exclaimed.
“Yeah, I done it when we was kids.”
“You and Cyr knew each other when you were children?” Duff asked.
“Val Cyr is my first cousin. We joined up with Quantrill together, ’n some later, when I first come back from the sea, we rode the outlaw trail together for a while.”
“You heard the way Forney and Crump have been describing this gang of brigands as thieves and murderers. And you say this fellow is your kinsman. Do you think he is capable of such a thing?” Duff had a lot of faith in his foreman.
“Yeah,” Elmer said with a single nod of his head. “Yeah, I do.”
“What about the townsmen?” Duff asked. “Does Jaco enjoy their support?”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean by that,” Forney admitted. “He enjoys the soiled doves that work in the saloon.”
“I mean, do the townspeople support Jaco? If it came down to a battle between Jaco and someone from outside, would everyone in the town fight for Jaco?”
Forney shook his head. “No, I don’t think they would. Most of the folks that was in town left when Jaco took over. The ones that stayed thought they’d be makin’ a lot of money, and I s’pose they are. Folks that’s come to town since then done it just ’cause it is a outlaw town. Onliest thing is, it’s costin’ them a lot just to live there. Plus, Jaco is collectin’ what he calls a tax.”
“Forney’s right. I ‘spect more ’n half of the ones that stayed would just as soon Jaco move on.”
“That’s good to know,” Duff said.
“But that don’t mean he don’t have a lot who would fight for him.”
“How many?” Duff asked immediately.
“At least twenty. Maybe a few more,” Crump said.
“But that ain’t all of it,” Forney said. “I know that he plans to use them two kids as a way to keep anyone from comin’ after ’em.”
“We can’t just let those boys stay there,” Jason said. “We’ve got to get them out, one way or another.”
Wang spoke for the first time. “You know this town,” he said to Forney and Crump. “Are there any Chinese people there?”
“Any Chinamen? No, I don’t think so,” Crump said.
“Yeah, there are,” Forney said. “The laundry is run by some Chinamen, don’t you remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about them.”
“That is good,” Wang said.
Duff turned to his cook. “Wang, you have an idea?”
“Yes. I will go into town and get the two young Americans out.”
Frustrated, Jason asked, “How are you going to do that?”
“No one will see me.”
“Ha!” Forney said. “Believe me, Jaco will be keeping an eye on those two boys.”
“I will be invisible,” Wang said.
“What do you mean, you’ll be invisible?” Forney asked. “Somethin’ else I don’t understand.”
“I do,” Duff said. “Remember, Mr. Crump didn’t even know there were Chinese in the town.”
“Yes, I, too, am aware of the phenomenon,” Hanson said. “The ubiquitous servant is often invisible because of his lack of standing in the perceived social order of the elite.”
Forney and Crump looked at each other and shrugged. Hanson’s explanation offered no help in understanding.
“All right, Wang. So you can get into Shumla without being seen. Then what?” Jason asked.
“I will find a way to save Timmy and his friend.”
“You can’t do this all by yourself,” Jason said.
“I have seen Wang in action,” Duff said. “I believe he can do it.”
“How long will you need?” Jason asked.
“Two days.”
Jason nodded.
Chapter Thirty-four
“Tell me, Forney, how’d you two boys get joined up with Jaco and the rest of ’em?” Elmer asked.
“It was easy. We just rode into town ’n said we wanted to join up.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do,” Elmer said.
“What are talking about?” Jason asked.
“I told you, me ’n Cyr was cousins. We also rode the outlaw trail together for a while. He would vouch for me.”
“You two get along, do you?” Jason asked.
“Not particularly. But then, we never did.”
Hanson chuckled. “I would think not, considering that you bit off his ear.”
“I’m curious. Why did you do that?” Jason asked.
“Because he stole my fried peach pie.”
Jason and the others laughed.
“I’ve got me another idea, but bein’ as you’re a sheriff ’n all, you’re goin’ to have to help me.”
“I’ll do what I can. What do you need?”
Elmer didn’t hesitate. “I need you to get a fella I know out of the Texas State Prison.”
Jason hesitated, then said, “I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that.”
“Didn’t you say that Jaco and Putt was s’posed to be hung, but they escaped from the prison before the warden could get the rope around their necks?”
“Yes.”
“And since the two of ’em has come over to Texas, what with the killin’ ’n all, don’t you think they’re wanted here just as bad?”
“I imagine they are.”
“Well, the feller I got in mind is just in there for thievin’ ’n such, and I expect his time is most served by now. If you tell the warden that he’ll help you get Jaco, he might be willin’ to let ’em go. His name is Jim Morley.”
Jason frowned. He wasn’t big on letting prisoners go. “You know him?”
“Yeah, I know ’im.”
“Is he someone you can trust?” Hanson asked.
Elmer stroked his chin for a moment before he answered. “Well, now I’m not too awful sure about that. I think if he believes this will get ’im out of prison a bit earlier, I can trust ’im. The only thing is, I’m not sure he’s goin’ to be all that set on helpin’ me.”
“Why not?” Jason asked.
“I was ridin’ on both sides of the law for a while. Sometimes I was the outlaw, sometimes I was the law. For a while I was deputyin’ up in Tarrant County. I’m the one that brung ’im in.”
Shumla
“Who is the proprietor of this establishment?” Wang asked, speaking in Chinese as he stepped into the laundry situated at the outer edge of town.
“I am Kai Mot,” an older man said.
Wang wrapped his left hand around his fist, keeping his elbows straight, and made a slight dip of his head. “I am Wang Chow.”
Upon seeing the martial arts greeting, Kai Mot’s eyes grew wider, and the expression on his face stiffened. “You are a martial arts priest?”
“There are people who would pay a great deal of money to have that information,” Wang said. “I have placed my life in your hands.”
Kai Mot put his hands together in the position of praying and made a more profound dip of his head than had Wang.
“I am honored by your trust, and you need have no fear of betrayal.”
“I thank you for your kindness.”
“Why have you come to my humble establishment?”
“I have heard that this is a town of thieves, vandals, and murderers. Is this true?”
Kai Mot nodded. “Yes, it is called, by the round-eyes, an outlaw town.”
“And is there an evil man here, named Jaco?”
“Yes. He is the leader, and he is most evil.”
“Thank you for the information.”
“Pardon me for asking such an injudicious question, Ji si, but why have you come to such a place?” Kai Mot asked.
“Recently, Jaco and the evil men who ride with him captured two young American boys. Do you know of this?”
“Yes, I have seen them in the saloon.”
That surprised Wang. “You are allowed in the saloon?”
“Not as a customer. I wash the towels and the aprons and the clothes of the chngjì who entertain the men. I go and I leave, but I am never noticed.”
“That is good. Have the young Americans been mistreated?”
“They are kept tied, but I have not seen scars or bruises. They were being kept downstairs, but I believe now they are in the room of one of the chngjì. But I have not seen them there, so I do not know which room.”
“If you have not seen them, how do you know they are in such a room?”
Kai Mot shrugged. “The chngjì talk as if I am not there. I have heard them say this.”
“When do you go to gather the laundry?”
“Every evening at six o’clock”.
Finally, Wang asked what he’d come there for. “I ask that you allow me to go tonight.”
“Are you going to attempt to rescue the hái zi qì de rén?”
“Yes.”
Surprised, Kai Mot asked, “Why would you risk your life for American boys?”
“It is a debt of honor,” Wang said.
“Yes. I can understand honor.”
“Where will I find the articles that are to be brought back to the laundry?”
“In a basket behind the stove.”
“I will gather them for you, and have a look around.”
Just before six o’clock that evening, Wang pushed through the swinging batwing doors. He made himself “invisible” by keeping his head slightly bowed as if he were unworthy of looking anyone in the face or of being seen. He moved through the saloon, giving everyone plenty of space and heading for the stove which sat in the back corner of the room, cold and empty on the warm night.
He removed all of the laundry, then began carefully folding each piece one at a time before putting it back into the basket. Well aware there were no more than one or two people who even realized that he was there, he was able to fold and watch for several minutes without arousing anyone’s suspicion or their notice.
He saw one rather dark-complexioned man sitting at a table with another man whose skin was white as chalk—the albino he had heard mentioned—and a third man. Wang believed, from the authoritative way the dark man was presenting himself, the man doing all the talking must be Jaco.
Wang listened in on the conversation.
“I think we ought to take the boys with us on our next raid,” Jaco was saying.
“What for? They’d just get in the way,” the third man replied.
“Think about it, Mattoon. A couple kids tied to their horses, riding right smack-dab in the middle of our group? Hell, nobody would want to take a chance on shootin’ at us, for fear that they might hit one of the kids.”
“Yeah,” Mattoon said. “Yeah, I hadn’t thought about that.”
Sitting with two men at another table closer to Wang than Jaco, the albino, and the man named Mattoon was one of the bar girls. As Wang studied her, he saw that she, too, was listening to Jaco’s words and found them disturbing.
“Did you two hear what Jaco just said?” the girl asked, validating, though no validation was actually needed, that Wang had correctly identified Jaco.
“What did he say?” one of the men asked.
“He just said he’s planning on taking those two little boys with him on the next raid to keep people from shooting at you. Do you think he would really do that?”
“He might,” spoke the man in the blue shirt.
“Oh, surely not! That would be awful!”
“What’s so awful about it? If it’ll keep people from shooting at us, I think it would be a pretty good idea.”
“Yeah, I do, too,” agreed the man wearing a black hat.
“Then you are as awful as he is.”
The two men laughed.
“Look, Belle, just because you’re keepin’ them two boys in your room, that don’t mean you’re their mama. Hell, you ain’t even their big sister,” Blue Shirt said.
“Yeah, don’t you go lettin’ yourself start gettin’ feelin’s over them two boys, ’cause like as not they’re both goin’ to wind up dead.”
“Not if I can help it,” Belle muttered.
“Yeah? Well, more ’n likely if Jaco wants ’em dead, ’n you get in the way, you’ll wind up dead, too.”
“Larry, Lenny,” Jaco called to over to Belle’s table. “Let’s go down to the café ’n get us somethin’ for supper.”
“All right,” Blue Shirt replied.
Both men stood, then Black Hat leaned back down. “Look, I’m tellin’ you for your own good, get them two boys out of your mind. They’re both goin’ to wind up dead, ’n you will, too, if you do somethin’ crazy like try and protect ’em or somethin’.”
Jaco and several others left the saloon. Belle, wiping tears from her eyes, got up from the table and hurried up the stairs.
Wang picked up the basket and started toward the door, but he kept his eyes on the mirror behind the bar. He could see Belle’s reflection, and which door she entered.
Huntsville, Texas
“Now, Sheriff, what can I do for you?” the warden asked when Jason, Duff, and Elmer were admitted to his office in the Texas State Prison.
“You have a prisoner here named Jim Morley. I would like you to release him to my custody,” Jason said.
“Jim Morley,” the warden said. “Let me see what I have on him.” Opening a drawer, he looked through the files, then pulled one out. “He was sentenced to ten years, but he has only served seven. Come back in three years.”
“I need him now.”
“What do you mean, you need him? Why do you need him?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard of A. M. Jaco and the Kingdom Come Gang,” Jason said.
“Yes, they’ve been raising hell down in the southwest part of the state.”
Jason gave a nod. “That’s where I am. I believe Morley can help us put a stop to this gang.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because I’m goin’ to get ’im to come with me to join up with the gang,” Elmer said, speaking for the first time.”
“I can see why they might take someone like Morley. Why would they take you?” the warden asked.
“One of the gang members is my first cousin. He’ll vouch for me.”
“I don’t know,” the warden said. “It seems like a pretty far-fetched idea to me.”
“Warden, they have my son,” Jason said. “My son and another young boy. This is very personal. If you want me to, I’ll petition the governor, but that would take time. Too much time, I’m afraid.”
“All right. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll let you meet with Morley, talk to him for a while. If, after you have spoken with him, you still want to do this—and if Morley is agreeable to the terms—”
“We haven’t discussed the terms, but if he agrees, I want the remainder of his sentence to be commuted.” Jason spoke with authority.
“That’s three years!” the warden exclaimed.
“He could get killed doing what I have in mind. He needs some incentive.”
“All right,” the warden agreed. “Go into my library and wait. I’ll have the prisoner brought to you.”
Elmer was standing in the corner behind one of the book
cases when, half an hour later, two armed guards brought the prisoner into the library. Morley was handcuffed.
“Take off the handcuffs,” Jason ordered.
“This is not a containment area,” one of the guards replied. “It is standard procedure to keep prisoners in wrist restraints when they aren’t in a containment area. Besides, it’s for your own safety.”
“I’m Sheriff Jason Bowles, and I will take personal responsibility for this man. Now, please, take off the restraints.”
“Yes, sir.” Complying with the request, the guard removed the handcuffs and stepped back.
“Have a chair,” Jason invited.
“What’s all this about, Sheriff?” Morley asked as he sat down.
Elmer stepped out into the room then. “Hello, Morley. Do you remember me?”
Morley glanced over toward Elmer and immediately, the smile left his face. “Yeah, I remember you.” The tone of his voice was little more than a snarl. “You’re the one who got me put into prison.”
“I’m also the one who is about to get you out of prison,” Elmer said, sitting down next to Jason.
The expression on Morley’s face turned from hostile to curious. “How are you going to get me out?”
“By offering you a deal,” Elmer said.
“What kind of a deal?”
“Have you ever heard of a man named A. M. Jaco?”
“No, I can’t say as I have. Who is he?”
“He is one of the most vicious criminals ever to come to Texas,” Jason answered. “He has taken over the town of Shumla and has turned it into an outlaw town. He has his own private army of at least twenty men, maybe more, and when they go out on a raid, they sweep through a town like a swarm of locusts, plundering, burning, and killing.”
“Especially killing,” Elmer added.
“What does all that have to do with this here deal you are offering me?” Morley asked.
Elmer grinned. “You and me are going to join his gang.”
Chapter Thirty-five
Shumla
It was nearly midnight when Wang, dressed in black, moved silently down the alley that ran behind the laundry. The blade of his sword caught a beam of moonlight and sent a sliver of silver into the night.
MacCallister Kingdom Come Page 24