Golden Spike

by Robert Lee Murphy

  “I’m a businessman. I run a respectable establishment. I’m not a criminal.”

  “Do you deny O’Hannigan works for you?” Will’s uncle asked.

  “He does from time to time. He’s my godson.”

  “Godson?” Will said.

  “I’m his mother’s cousin. After his father was killed . . . and as I understand the story, that was at your hand, Corcoran . . . I agreed to help Paddy. He does odd jobs for me.”

  “So, you deny that you are involved in this kidnapping?” Will’s uncle asked.

  “Absolutely. And I ask again, what do you want from me?”

  “You are going to provide the money for the ransom.” Will spoke ahead of his uncle. He clenched his fists at the thought that Kavanagh and Paddy were related.

  “Ha! Tremble!” Kavanagh shouted. “Get in here and bring your shotgun.”

  The door to his office opened and Luey appeared.

  “You might want to take a look around, Mr. Kavanagh,” Luey said. He stepped out of the doorway to provide the saloon owner a clear view of the interior of the Lucky Dollar.

  “What’s going on here?” Kavanagh asked. “You have no right to enter my saloon with a gang of armed soldiers.”

  “We thought you might need a little encouragement,” Will’s uncle said. “You are the only person in Echo City who has the amount of cash on hand to meet O’Hannigan’s ransom demand. We only have a few hours left to take the money to Sawmill Canyon to save Jenny McNabb’s life.”

  “That’s of no concern to me. Her father works for Wells Fargo. They have a lot more money than I do.”

  “True, but not here in Echo City,” Will’s uncle said.

  “And what are you going to do if I refuse?”

  Luey had stepped into the office after Kavanagh had seen what faced him in the saloon. “I will declare martial law and shut this place down,” Luey said.

  “You can’t do that. This is the Territory of Utah. You have no authority here. This is Mormon country.”

  “I believe,” Luey said, “that Brigham Young would be delighted for me to shut down one of the temptations that plagues the Mormon community.”

  Will watched Kavanagh’s jaw clench. He saw the saloon keeper’s fingers curl into fists on the top of his desk.

  “And how will I get my money back?” Kavanagh asked.

  “Hard to say,” Will’s uncle answered. “Alistair McNabb might pay you back for saving his daughter, but it would take some time, he’s not wealthy. You could petition the Union Pacific and Wells Fargo, but they have no real interest since this is a family matter, not a company one.”

  “Make up your mind,” Luey said. “The railroad will pay their workers sooner or later. Then you can make plenty of money. But not if this place is shut down.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Will, Lone Eagle, and Lieutenant Moretti approached the mouth of Sawmill Canyon. General Jack had shown them the location on a map. They’d ridden away from General Dodge’s coach a little over an hour ago, moving at a trot alongside the Union Pacific’s tracks, up Echo Canyon.

  All three men reined in. Lone Eagle dismounted, bent low, and studied the ground.

  Lone Eagle swung back into his saddle. He rode a standard cavalry horse, instead of his pony. Will still found it strange to see his friend dressed in buckskin trousers and moccasins, and wearing a plain, blue cavalryman’s blouse. His mixed-blood friend wore no hat, his hair pulled back into a single braid secured around his head with a red band.

  “Two horses went up this road not long ago.” Lone Eagle pointed to the northwest, up the length of the narrow canyon leading away from the railroad tracks.

  “That has to be Paddy’s and Jenny’s horses,” Will said. “I’ll go on alone from here.”

  “I don’t like the idea of you riding into that canyon by yourself, Will,” Luey said. “I should have brought the detachment to provide you an escort. At least, I will go with you.”

  “No, Luey. I know Paddy O’Hannigan, and you don’t. He will kill Jenny in a minute, if he sees you beside me. You and Lone Eagle stay back.”

  “What’s to keep him from shooting you?” Luey asked. “He can kill you, grab the money, and kill Jenny, too.”

  “That’s a chance I’ll have to take. We agreed that you and Lone Eagle would stay far enough behind me that he could see you, but not be threatened by you. He’ll know that if he harms me or Jenny, you will pursue him.”

  “All right,” Luey said, “but I don’t like the plan.”

  Will flicked his reins. “Let’s go, Buck.” He headed up the woodcutter’s road, holding his Winchester in one hand. Looking back, he saw Luey and Lone Eagle following a hundred yards behind him.

  Blam!

  A bullet slammed into the dirt of the road in front of Buck. Will pulled back on the reins and halted.

  “Far enough, Braddock!”

  Paddy’s warning came from someplace above. Will scanned the slopes on both sides of the canyon.

  “Sure, and I told ye to come alone.”

  Will followed the sound of Paddy’s voice and spotted him halfway up the slope on the opposite side of the creek that flowed beside the road. “I am here alone,” Will said.

  “Then why are them two behind ye?”

  “They will stay back as long as Jenny is safe, and as long as you don’t kill me.”

  “Ye see that boulder ten yards ahead of ye?”

  Will spotted a large rock outcrop that forced the stream to bend around it. “Yes.”

  “Ye have the money in them saddlebags on yer horse?”

  “Yes.”

  “Dismount,” Paddy called, “and put the saddlebags on that rock. Ye understand?”

  Will stayed mounted, looking up the slope at Paddy. “Not until I see Jenny. Where is she?”

  He watched Paddy drag Jenny upright beside him. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, her dress was torn in places, and streaks of dried blood were visible on her cheeks.

  “You all right, Jenny?” Will called.

  She nodded her head.

  “Speak to me, Jenny,” Will said.

  “Sure, and she won’t be doing that, Braddock. I told her I’d shoot ye if she uttered so much as a single word.”

  “Is that right, Jenny?”

  She nodded again.

  “Well, now,” Paddy said, “leave yer rifle and yer gun belt with yer horse. Walk slowly to that rock and lay the bags on top.”

  Will dismounted, dropping Buck’s reins to the ground. He shoved the rifle between the girth strap and the sweat pad of the saddle and unbuckled his gun belt, laying it across the saddle seat. He untied the saddlebags from the Morgan’s rump and lifted them.

  “Make sure them two stay back,” Paddy pointed his pistol down the road to where Luey and Lone Eagle were visible.

  “They’ll stay there, as long as you don’t shoot Jenny or me.”

  “Well, then, get a move on.”

  Will looked up the slope from time to time, while surveying the creek bed and the wagon road as he approached the rock. Paddy must have his horse secured nearby. He wasn’t sure what he could do if he located the horse. If he tried to run it off, he’d antagonize Paddy to do something to Jenny, or himself.

  Will placed the saddlebags on top of the boulder and stepped back. “There, O’Hannigan, is your money. Now, let Jenny go.”

  “Sure, and ye think I’d let her go before I have the money? Get back to yer horse and I’ll bring her down.”

  Will gritted his teeth, but he had no choice. He turned and walked back to Buck.

  CHAPTER 29

  Jenny winced when Paddy’s grip on her arm tightened. He jammed his revolver hard into her side. She felt a tear gather in each eye. They blurred her vision.

  “Sure, and ye ain’t home free, yet, lass. If ye try anything, I’ll shoot ye fer sure. I’ll have plenty of time to grab the money and hightail it before Braddock can reach ye. Understand?”

  Jenny looked up at Padd
y and blinked the tears away. The gaps in his rotten teeth expelled foul breath into her face. The sneer on his lips wrinkled the scar on his cheek.

  “Yes.” She nodded.

  Paddy poked her with the pistol. “I told ye no talking. Right?”

  She nodded again.

  Paddy dragged her out from their hiding place and down the steep slope. Each step brought excruciating pain to her feet. She unintentionally pulled back on Paddy’s grasp because she couldn’t keep up with his pace.

  “Come along, lass. We’ve no time to waste now.”

  Paddy grabbed her arm tighter. His hand bore more strength than his scrawny build implied. Her arm would be bruised, for sure.

  Halfway down the slope she stubbed her toe on a large rock and collapsed. She exhaled sharply when her knees hit the ground. Paddy lost his grip on her arm, but he quickly grabbed her by the hair.

  “Up!” he commanded.

  He yanked hard on her hair, hurting her scalp. The flow of her tears increased. When she looked down the slope, she saw Will take a hesitant step forward from Buck.

  “Ye stay back, Braddock. Don’t come no closer.” Paddy pulled upward on Jenny’s hair, dragging her back to her feet.

  “You, danged devil.” Jenny hissed the curse in a low voice.

  Paddy whacked her on the shoulder with his revolver. “I said no talking.”

  Jenny ground her teeth together and fumed silently. She forced herself to take careful steps down the hill. Rocks and pebbles scooted loose beneath her bloody feet. Her thigh muscles burned from the effort she had to make to keep from sliding out of control down the steep slope. Every other step she did slip, and her feet slid downward across the top of the rocky surface. She curled her toes in an attempt to grasp the ground to keep her balance.

  The level surface near the creek finally brought relief. Her thigh muscles quivered and shook from the intensive tension they’d borne. The few patches of dry grass and clumps of dead weeds along the bank provided a soothing cushion for the soles of her feet.

  Paddy dragged her into the fast-moving waters of the creek.

  “Oh.” She couldn’t contain the exclamation. The cold water jolted her. The cuts in her feet stung.

  The narrow creek necessitated only a dozen steps to cross it, and then Paddy dragged her up the other bank and over to the rock where Will had placed the saddlebags.

  Paddy shoved her against the back of the rock, releasing her hair. She reached up with one hand to massage her scalp, and with the other she reached forward and placed her hand on the surface of the rock, glad to hold on to something that stabilized her shaking legs.

  Paddy pinned her body against the rock with his own and gathered up the saddlebags. He unbuckled each pocket in the bag and checked the contents. Then Jenny felt him step back.

  “Here she be, Braddock. Sure, and ye stay right where ye are until I’m gone around that cliff bank yonder.” Out of the corner of her eye, Jenny saw Paddy point behind him with his pistol.

  “I hate you, Paddy O’Hannigan,” Jenny said. “You’ll get yours someday.”

  “I said no talking!”

  He raised his revolver and she watched it descend on her skull.

  She wasn’t sure how long she’d been unconscious, but she smiled when she recognized the voice speaking to her.

  “Jenny,” Will said. “Wake up, Jenny.”

  “Will.” She looked into brown eyes that bored into her and saw a smile form on his lips. She liked it when she could make him smile.

  “Jenny,” he said, “I’m sorry, Jenny.”

  “Sorry? What for? You saved me . . . again.” She grinned, but squinted from the pain in her head.

  “But I didn’t keep Paddy from hurting you.”

  “I’m still alive. That’s the important thing.” She sighed. The ache in the back of her skull did not diminish.

  “I think it’s time we go, Will.” Jenny looked to the side and identified Lieutenant Moretti as having spoken.

  Luey and Lone Eagle stood a couple of paces away, holding the reins of their horses.

  “Can you stand?” Will asked.

  Jenny nodded. “If you help me up.”

  Will put his hands under her elbows and lifted her. She leaned into him. It felt good when he wrapped his arms around her.

  “We weren’t thinking,” Will said. “We should have brought a horse for you. You’ll have to ride double with me. If that’s all right?”

  That sounded much better to Jenny than having to ride her own horse. “I’ll manage.”

  “Where are your shoes?” Will asked. “Can you walk?”

  “Paddy threw my shoes away to keep me from escaping. My feet hurt. They’re cut and bleeding. I don’t think I can take another step.”

  Will slipped an arm beneath her knees and scooped her up. “I’ll have to lift you onto Buck, then.”

  Jenny laid her head on Will’s shoulder and smiled. “I like that plan.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Paddy adjusted the saddlebags on his shoulder and approached the back entrance to the Lucky Dollar Saloon. He could feel the grin on his face—felt the muscles in his cheeks pulling the corners of his mouth upward—felt the scar on his cheek wrinkle. He’d returned to say goodbye to Mort Kavanagh. How long had he dreamed of this day of freeing himself from the domination of his godfather? He patted the saddlebags. Now, he had the wherewithal to do it.

  He’d spent an uncomfortable night hiding in the hills above Echo City after collecting the ransom money for Jenny McNabb. He had to wait until Kavanagh arrived to work in the morning. A half-mile short of reaching Hell on Wheels, he abandoned the Army-branded horse and walked the rest of the way to the town. No need to attract undue attention to himself.

  Lifting the rear flap to the saloon, he entered. “Sure, and a fine morning to ye, Randy, me good man.”

  Randy Tremble looked back at him with an open mouth, but said nothing. What was wrong with Randy? Paddy expected to receive the usual caustic remark in return to his greeting.

  He walked across the dirt floor of the saloon, heading for Kavanagh’s office in the corner of the elevated wooden floor in the false front of the Lucky Dollar. He looked back over his shoulder at the long bar after he stepped up in front of the office door. Tremble still stared at him with no change in his expression.

  Paddy rapped once on the door and pushed it open without waiting for an invitation to enter. Kavanagh sat in his office chair behind the wooden desk. Sally Whitworth perched on the edge of the desk, displaying a polished, high-buttoned shoe beneath the short skirt of her red dress with each swing of her leg.

  “Top of the morning to ye, Mort,” Paddy said. He purposely did not remove the old slouch hat he’d taken from Zeke Thomas. It felt good to defy his godfather’s admonition about wearing a hat in his office. Paddy didn’t wait to be asked to sit down—he simply dropped into an unoccupied chair and flopped his saddlebags onto Kavanagh’s desktop in front of him.

  Neither Mort nor Sally spoke. Paddy looked from one to the other. That’s not normal. They would usually both be accusing him of something. He drew his Bowie knife from his boot top and pulled a plug of tobacco from his vest pocket. While he sliced a chaw off the plug and transferred it to his mouth, no one said a word.

  “Sure, and I’ve come to say goodbye, Mort.” Paddy slipped the knife back into his boot.

  Mort nodded slightly and raised his eyebrows. “Goodbye?” he said.

  “Aye, ’tis something I’ve been hankering to do for a long time. Now, ye see, I’ve come into some funds that will permit me to bring me mother and sister out west and start a new life for meself.”

  “I see,” Kavanagh said.

  Sally, who normally would have pulled as far away from him as she could, claiming his breath was too foul for her liking, slid off the desk and sat in the chair next to him. She still did not speak, but she leaned closer to him.

  “Well, and, sure it is I seem to be surprising ye both,” Paddy said.r />
  “You could say that.” Kavanagh nodded. “Sally, my dear, why don’t you ask Randy to join us? Tell him to bring something appropriate to the occasion.”

  “Of course, Mort.” Sally pushed up from her chair, brushing her hands down across the front of her dress. The color of the dress matched her long tresses, which caressed her bare shoulders.

  Paddy felt his smile broaden again as he watched Sally sashay away. He had enough money he could treat the beautiful redhead in the way she expected. Now, she would show him some respect.

  After Sally left the office, Kavanagh opened a desk drawer and brought out a cigar. He kept his eyes on Paddy while he rolled the tobacco between his fingers and thumb. Raising the cigar to his nose, he inhaled the crisp aroma released by caressing the rolled leaves. With a guillotine cutter, he clipped off an end and dropped it into the spittoon. He struck a lucifer match across the top of the desk and held the flame to the cigar. He dragged his breath in deeply, coaxing the end of the cigar to a bright, orange glow, and blew a smoke ring at Paddy.

  “Tell me, Paddy,” Kavanagh said, “how is it you acquired this treasure that allows you to depart my employ?”

  While he’d ridden the back way down out of the rugged country surrounding Sawmill Canyon, Paddy had mulled over the story he would need to tell.

  “Well, now, don’t ye see, Mort, I’ve been up to Wahsatch the past couple of days, and I had a fantastic streak of luck at the faro tables.”

  “At the faro tables,” Kavanagh said. “And how is it that the railroad workers had enough cash on them to enable you to become independently wealthy? Has the railroad paid their wages, and I haven’t heard about it?”

  “Nay, it weren’t railroad workers. T’were land speculators, what were on their way to Ogden. Wealthy, they were, to be sure.”

  “Land speculators? Well, I guess I should thank you for putting a stop to my competition. It’s enough that I have to battle the railroad in acquiring land, much less have a bunch of speculators in the mix.”

  The office door opened and Sally entered carrying a tray on which rested a bottle and a single glass. Paddy noticed that Randy Tremble approached the door, but did not enter.