The Lincoln Ransom

by JR Roberts

  “He’s bluffing!” Morehouse said.

  “Your call,” Clint said.

  But at that moment the call was made for all of them. There were some shot from back where they’d left the wagon and Clint went ahead and made his move.

  He drew his gun, surprising both of the men who were holding their rifles. He shot them both dead, then turned his gun to Morehouse, who was only just clearing his holster.

  “Wait, wait—” he pleased, but it was too late. Clint shot him once, right in the center of the chest. Morehouse’s eyes went wide and he fell over backwards.

  “Jesus Christ!” one of the other men said.

  “Grab those saddlebags and come on!” Clint said. He started running toward the wagon.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Killing the two soldiers was not Roper’s choice.

  He and the two men watched as Clint took the other five men to retrieve the money. Roper could see that the two young men were nervous. He didn’t know whose decision it was to send all young men with them to fetch the money, but because they had no experience they were extremely jumpy.

  “Take it easy, boys,” Roper said, “they’ll be back.”

  “You shut up!” one of them said. They were both holding rifles pointed at Roper, who thought he might get shot by accident.

  “Okay, okay,” Roper said, “I’m not saying a word.” But he kept his hand down by his gun. What kind of a senseless death would it be to be shot by accident by two nervous boys?

  But when Clint and the others didn’t come back right away the two boys became even more nervous, for a different reason.

  “What if they take off with the money?” one of them asked the other. “We don’t get our share.”

  That was when Roper knew these men had no intention of returning to town with the money.

  “We got their horses,” the second man said.

  “They can buy new horses with fifty thousand dollars!” the first one said.

  “So whataya wanna do?”

  “We gotta do somethin’ before they get away!”

  They both looked Roper and he knew what was coming. He didn’t wait. He drew his gun even as they tightened their fingers on the trigger. He fired once, threw himself into the bed of the buckboard with the casket, and then fire two more times.

  Both young would-be Confederate soldiers lay dead on the ground.

  Clint came running up to the wagon, but stopped when he saw Roper standing by the casket.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “They got nervous. You?”

  The other two soldiers came running up behind him and Roper started to go for his gun.

  “No!” Clint yelled. “They dropped their guns and surrendered.”

  “And the others?”

  “Not so lucky.” Clint turned to the two men. “Toss him the saddlebags.”

  The man holding them obeyed, tossing them up to Roper.

  Clint walked around the wagon, saw the two men lying on the ground.

  “They weren’t so lucky, either,” Roper said.

  “I can see that.”

  “What about these two?” Roper asked.

  “They’re free to go,” Clint said. He looked at them. “Take off those jackets, mount up and go.”

  “Yessir!” they both said.

  The stripped off their jackets and left them lying in the dirt as they mounted up and rode off, away from town.

  “What are we facing back in town?” Roper asked.

  “About fourteen men,” Clint said.

  “Could be worse,” Roper said. “Of course, we have half the ransom and the casket. We could just go.”

  “Yeah, we could.”

  They stared at each other for a few minutes.

  “You can’t do that, can you?” Roper asked.

  “No,” Clint said. “Can you?”

  Roper backed off answering and said, “It’s your call.”

  Clint looked at the two dead men, and then the five horses that belonged to all the dead soldiers.

  “We better tie these horses off so they don’t go back to town and tip them off.”

  “I think when these fellas, and those others you killed, don’t return with the money, that’ll pretty much tip them off.”

  “Which is why we can’t wait,” Clint said. “We have to move fast.”

  “So, back to town.”

  Clint nodded.

  “And what do we do with the casket? And the money?”

  “We’ll take the money with us,” Clint said. “We’ll have to leave the buckboard and casket out here somewhere.”

  “But where?”

  “Well,” Clint said. “off the main road, for sure.”

  “Okay,” Roper said. “we’ve got to hide the buckboard, the casket, and five horses. That shouldn’t be too hard.”

  Clint gathered up the five horses, tied them to the back of the buckboard, then mounted Eclipse.

  “Let’s go,” he said, “Maybe all we have to do is get far enough off the road.”

  As it happened they found a clearing inside a ring of trees and rocks where the wagon could sit out of sight. They formed a picket line for the horses, and as long as the remained quiet they’d stay hidden, as well.

  “I hate to leave the President here,” Clint said, putting his hand on the casket.

  “If here’s even in there,” Roper said.

  “He’s in there,” Clint said, then added, “we have to believe he’s in there.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Roper said, “he’s in there. And he’ll still be here when we get back.” After a moment Roper added, “If we get back.”

  “Check your guns,” Clint said. They made sure their pistols and rifles were in proper working order, then mounted up.

  “Where to first?” Roper asked.

  “Let’s circle around and see if we can catch Gemma in her house,” Clint said. “We might be able to use her as a hostage and get the other men to disarm.”

  “I’m a little worried about this young Captain Gately,” Roper said.

  “What about him?”

  “He was too young to be in the war. I think he might be looking for a way to prove himself.”

  “Given the chance, then, he might make the wrong decision,” Clint said. “I think what we’re going to have to do is take that decision away from him.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  It was getting on toward dusk as Clint and Roper came within sight of the Wentworth house. The townspeople still had not returned to the streets. Clint didn’t know how many of them there were, or how long Gately and his men had been in Segundo. But without law nobody would go against them, and he doubted Sheriff Harlan from Trinidad would want to risk his life for Segundo.

  “We better leave the horses here,” Clint said.

  “She’s got to have guards,” Roper said, as they dismounted.

  “I’ll circle around and we’ll come at the house from different sides.”

  “How do we know where the money is?”

  “I know,” Clint said. “She’s got the money. She wouldn’t trust it to anyone else.”

  “All right. How long?”

  “Count to sixty and then move in. I’ll be in position by then.”

  “I’ll take the front.”

  “Okay,” Clint said, “I’ll go in the back.”

  Roper hunkered down as Clint moved to circle to the front of the house.

  In fifty-eight seconds he was in position …

  Gately looked at Gemma Wentworth, lying naked on her bed. For a woman in her forties she had a lovely body, full breasts and hips, smooth skin, and an appetite for sex of a much younger woman—like his whore, Katy.

  He was naked, as well, standing by her bed. She was stroking his cock with one hand, murmuring to him.

  “Pretty,” she said, “such a pretty thing and so sweet … come on … come to bed …”

  He knew her husband was in the next room, but it didn’t matter. While his penis
was so hard it didn’t matter, and while there was the money it didn’t matter. Together they would use the money to build a new South.

  “Quickly,” she said, “they’ll be back soon, with the rest if the money … quickly …”

  He joined her on the bed, lowered himself onto her, and slid into her steamy depths, which closed around him like a wet fist …

  Clint moved in on the house, saw the soldier standing by the front door. He was one of the young ones. It was no trouble to sneak up on him and render him unconscious. He lowered him to the ground easily. He didn’t have anything to tie him with, but decided not to kill him. Maybe it would be all over before he woke. He took his pistol and rifle and tossed them as far as he could, then moved to the front door . . .

  At the same time Roper moved in on the guard at the back of the house. Just one man in front, and one in back. He wondered if that meant there were more inside.

  This was one of the older soldiers, who had put in his time during the war. He was trained, and started to turn as Roper go closer, but it was too late. Roper hit him over the head with the butt of his gun—something he hated to do because it could damage the weapon—and lowered the man to the ground. He took his guns and tossed them, moved to the back door, which was not locked, and opened it …

  The front door was locked, but Clint was able to force it without much fuss or noise. When he was inside he moved quietly, stopped in the empty livingroom and listened. He heard the unmistakable sounds of two people having sex, and started to follow it when the kitchen door opened and Roper stepped through.

  “Simon was in the kitchen,” Roper said. “I used some towels to tie him.”

  “Good.”

  “Sounds like someone’s busy,” Roper said.

  “Let’s go see who it is.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Both men moved toward the sound, down a hall. They came to another bedroom first, where a man was lying in bed.

  “Wait,” Clint said. He stepped inside, moved to the bed and looked down at Samuel Wentworth. He touched the Colonel, then went back to the hall.

  “Dead?” Roper asked.

  Clint nodded. “Must have died within the last hour.”

  They continued down the hall toward the sound of a squeaking bed, and two people grunting. Clint recognized the sounds Gemma made during sex. When they got to the door they paused and watched as Captain Gately bare ass moved up and down, up and down, with Gemma’s shapely legs wrapped around his waist.

  “Should we wait for them to finish?” Roper whispered.

  “No,” Clint said, aloud, and then even louder, “Sorry to barge in, folks!”

  Gately rolled off of Gemma quickly and stared at them with wide eyes. His gun was not within easy reach as he looked around. It was on a chair across the room.

  “Go ahead,” Clint said, “try for it.”

  “Relax, Captain,” Gemma said, looking at Clint with no hint of surprise. “Just get your pants on. They won’t shoot you for doing that.”

  “No,” Roper said, “I think I like him just the way he is.”

  “Do you mind if I get up, then?” Gemma asked.

  “No,” Clint said, “I think you should both stayed right where you are.”

  Gemma moved her hips and said, “Well, he’s gone quite soft now.”

  “Not my problem,” Clint said. “Where’s the money, Gemma?”

  “I knew you’d come back,” she said.

  “I’ll have a look around,” Roper said, and started to search the room.

  “What—what did you do to my men?” Gately asked.

  “They’re dead or gone,” Clint said. “Not coming back. And the men you left outside are down. So with you here that leave … what? Eleven more?”

  “Eleven is enough,” Gemma said. “You don’t have a chance.”

  “Against eleven trained men, maybe not,” Clint said, “but this ragtag group? Don’t make me laugh, Gemma.”

  “Please,” Gately said, “can I get up and at least put my pants on?”

  “Feeling vulnerable, Captain?” Roper asked. To Clint he said, “I’ll search the rest of the house.”

  Gemma moved uncomfortably beneath Gately, who’s arms were obviously getting tired.

  “Can I sit up?” he asked.

  “No, just stay where you are. I like you both this way.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Gemma said. “I’m sorry you found me like this, Clint, but I know you came back for me.”

  “Did I?”

  “Me and the money,” she said.

  “You’re half right.”

  “Oh, don’t bruise my ego and tell me it’s the money.”

  “Got it!” Clint heard Roper shout. In moments he appeared at the door, holding the saddlebags.

  “She put them in her husband’s room.”

  “Who’d look there?” she asked.

  “You know he’s dead, don’t you?” Clint asked.

  “The man I married died a long time ago,” she said. “Look, eleven men is eleven men, trained or not. By sheer force of numbers you can’t make it.”

  “We can ride out without them ever knowing we were here,” Clint sad. “By the time you tell them we’ll be long gone.”

  “I’ll send them after you,” she said. “If you’re going to take the money why not take me, too?”

  “Ma’am?” Gately said, staring down at her. “What about the cause?”

  “Oh, grow up, Captain,” she said. “A hundred thousand dollars buys lots of causes.”

  “But … the South—”

  “—died a long time ago. Time to stop playing soldier, Edward.”

  “Playing?”

  “That’s what you’ve been doing, you know,” she said. “Playing. You, my husband, the rest of those misfits. Oh, get off me, he’s not going to shoot you!”

  She pushed him off her, got to her feet, reached for a robe and covered her naked body.

  Gately sat there on the bed, waiting to be shot, or just too stunned to move. Clint figured he had plans of his own, maybe for Gemma, maybe for the cause, but now he realizing he had nothing.

  “Sorry, Captain,” Roper said. He crossed the room and clubbed the man over the head with his gun, figuring he might have to buy a new one after this.

  “Ooh,” Gemma said, making pained face, “was that really necessary?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Clint said, while Roper used the sheets to truss the Captain up.

  “He’s going to be terribly embarrassed and angry when he wakes up,” she said. “And those men might follow him. You really do have to take me with you, you know. They might kill me … or worse.”

  “That’s true,” Clint said.

  Roper finished with Gately and looked at Clint.

  “Tie her up, too,” Clint said.

  “Clint!”

  Roper grabbed her, getting a strong whiff of sex, tore some sheets and used them to tie her hands and feet.

  “You can’t,” she said, looking concerned for the first time. “This isn’t funny, darling.”

  “Actually,” Clint said, “it is kind of funny. What do you think, Tal?”

  Roper joined him at the door and said, “Looks pretty funny, to me.”

  “You better gag her,” Clint said. “She might yell, and if she has time to talk to the others before he does, she might get them on her side. After all, she’s a very persuasive woman.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “Clint, don’t—” she said, but Roper cut her off by stuffing some strips of sheet into her mouth, and then tying one around her head.

  “Sorry, Gemma,” Clint said. “Time for us to go.”

  They hurried down the hall to the back door and out. Roper noticed that the man he’d knocked out was gone and said to Clint, “Hey, wait—” but before he could he any further men with guns appeared from around the corner.

  “Shit,” Clint said.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  “What’s goin’ on?” one of t
hem demanded.

  “That’s the one who hit me,” one of them said, pointing at Roper.

  Before long they found themselves facing about eight men. The other must have been in front of the house, or in a saloon or cathouse—or maybe the count they had been given was high.

  “The Colonel’s inside, dead,” Clint said. “He died in his bed. We found your Captain in bed with his wife.”

  “So what?” another solder said. “She looks like she needs it every day. Maybe tomorrow it’ll be one if us.” He laughed at his own comment.

  “I don’t think so,” Clint said. “See, Mrs. Wentworth was going to take the money and leave …” then he had a thought and added, “… and take the young Captain with her.”

  “What?” someone said.

  “They wuz gonna leave us?”

  “What about the cause?” one young man asked.

  As older man said, “Don’t be daft, sonny. There ain’t no cause. There’s only the money. That’s all there ever was.”

  Another man pointed to the saddlebags on Clint’s shoulder.

  “Is that it? Is that the money?”

  “Half of it,” Clint said.

  “Where’s the other half?” someone asked.

  “Hidden.”

  “Well,” the older man said, “you better unhide it right quick. We’ll all take our shares and light out, and you can stay alive.”

  “What about the lady and her Captain?” Roper asked. “They’re tied up inside.”

  “Hell, leave ’em there,” the older man said.

  “B-but, the South—” the younger man said.

  “Will you shut up about that!” the older man said. “There ain’t no South.” To illustrate his point he took off his jacket and tossed it to the ground. “See these jackets they gave us. Torn and mended? I think that there might be the dame one I was wearin’ the day Lee surrendered.”

  Other men followed, and soon their jackets were all on the ground, including the idealistic young man, who was still frowning, confused.

  “And those guns?” Clint asked. “Some of them look pretty old. Have you drilled with them? Are you sure they work?”