by B. S. Dunn
‘No, Jordy. That was just plain murder,’ Kane told him. ‘The act of a mad dog killer.’
Kane glanced along the line of men. All were on edge. Gunhands tightened on gun butts, poised to pull in the blink of an eye.
His eyes came back to Jordan.
His brother smiled coldly and moved his feet a little wider. ‘You plan on doin’ somethin’ about it?’
‘Someone has to,’ Kane allowed.
Then something strange happened. Something that, in the eyes of Jordan Kane, wasn’t right.
Casually Kane moved to his left behind Rio who in turn had moved to his right.
‘What the hell is this?’ Jordan snapped. ‘Get the hell back here.’
‘When you’re ready, Jordy,’ Kane said flatly. ‘Get the ball started.’
The younger Kane was confused. ‘No. This ain’t the way it’s supposed to be. It’s me and you. I ain’t pullin’ on him.’
‘You’d better, kid,’ Rio told him. ‘I’m goin’ to pull on you.’
‘The hell you are!’ Jordan shrieked and spittle flew from his lips. ‘This is not how it’s meant to be! It is me and Lucas! And when I kill him I will be the new king!’
Kane saw the wild look in his brother’s eyes and almost felt sorry for him. But it reinforced what Jordan Kane really was; a crazed killer.
‘The hell with this.’
Kane’s eyes snapped across to Cassidy who had turned away and started to walk off.
‘Where are you going, Cassidy?’ Jordan shouted.
‘I’m through with you, Jordan,’ the big gunfighter said without turning. ‘You’re outta your head. I must’ve been stupid to get mixed up with you in the first place.’
‘Stop,’ Jordan called after him.
‘Go to hell.’
‘I said stop, you coward!’
As Jordan’s shriek filled the street he drew his right side Colt and shot Cassidy in the back. The roar of the shot reverberated from the false-front shops that lined the street. The big gunman fell face down from the hammer blow impact of the slug.
No one heard the second shot. The thunder of the first had drowned it out.
Jordan Kane turned and looked at his brother then at the smoking Peacemaker he held in his hand. He pressed his left hand to his side, just up from his bottom rib. He looked bemused at his hand as it came away dripping with bright-red blood.
The others noticed the dark stain gradually build in size on his clothing as his life flowed from the hole the bullet had made.
Jordan gave Kane a wan smile and managed to say, ‘I knew you couldn’t beat me, Lucas. You had to wait until I wasn’t looking.’
Slowly, like some giant tree being felled in the forest, Jordan Kane hit the dirt of Buford’s main street and didn’t move. The killer they called the Prince was dead.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ Rio hissed.
Kane’s gaze snapped away from his dead brother and he saw that both Rio and Utah had their guns drawn and had the remaining hired guns covered.
‘Unbuckle ’em slow and easy,’ Rio ordered.
The three gunmen did as they were told and let their gunbelts drop at their feet.
‘What are you doin’, Rio?’ Roscoe James asked.
‘You’re goin’ to jail,’ Rio informed him. ‘Where I suspect you will remain until they hang you all.’
‘The hell I am,’ James blurted out.
Utah thumbed back the hammer on his six-gun. ‘Can I shoot him, Rio?’
‘Wait,’ Kane said stepping forward. ‘Before you do, where’s the girl?’
‘Let us go and I’ll tell you,’ James offered.
Kane drew his Peacemaker and closed the distance between himself and the killer. He placed the cold, hard gun barrel against James’ head and whispered harshly, ‘I just killed my own brother. I’m in no mood to be bandyin’ words with a piece of trash like you. Where is the girl?’
Beads of sweat broke out on James’ forehead and he trembled slightly. Still, there was no information forthcoming. The hired killer closed his eyes; his jaw remained clenched shut as though he was bracing himself for the death blow.
The dry triple-click of the gun hammer going back on the Peacemaker changed all of that.
‘The girl?’
‘Wait,’ James bleated, ‘I’ll tell you. Lance has her, out at his ranch.’
Kane let down the hammer and holstered the Colt.
‘Now you can lock ’em up,’ he told Rio.
‘Are you goin’ after the girl?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Want some help?’
‘No. I can handle it.’
‘Fair enough.’
Chapter 15
The big chestnut crossed the stream and climbed the small cut with powerful strides. When it topped the bank Kane urged it on and the animal thundered into the B-L connected ranch yard.
Two cowboys breaking a horse in the corral scooped up rifles and hurried towards the gunfighter.
Kane was out of the saddle in the blink of an eye and strode purposefully towards the house when they stopped in front of him.
‘Can we help you, mister?’ they asked.
‘I’ve come to see your boss,’ he told them.
‘Mr Lance said that he don’t want no visitors today,’ the thin cowboy on the left said.
‘Paid us a five-dollar bonus to see he weren’t disturbed,’ the thick-set cowboy on the right put in.
Kane stepped forward, angling for the gap between the two men.
‘He’ll see me.’
The cowboys blocked his way. ‘Nope. Don’t think he will.’
Kane took a step back and looked at both men. The look of determination on both of their faces told him the pair weren’t going to budge. After all, five dollars for a cowboy was almost a week’s wage.
‘Listen very carefully, both of you,’ Kane started. ‘In that house behind you, your boss is holdin’ a little girl hostage. I’m here to get her.’
‘The boss said no one,’ the thin cowboy said.
Kane sighed resignedly. Then with a blur of movement too fast for the eye to see, he drew his Peacemaker and shot both of them.
The two cowboys went down screaming, clutching at their wounded legs. Kane stepped forward and kicked their rifles away from them.
‘Count yourselves lucky you ain’t dead,’ he told them. ‘If there hadn’t been so much killin’ lately I just might have put them slugs in both your heads.’
The gunfighter opened the loading gate on the Peacemaker and dropped out the two empties. He took two from the loops of his gunbelt and replaced the ones he’d taken out.
After which he headed for the ranch house.
As soon as Kane opened one side of the twin front doors, the deep throaty roar of a shotgun greeted him. Wooden splinters were gouged from the door to his left as the charge of buckshot ploughed into it.
They scythed dangerously through the air and a sliver scored the gunfighter’s neck. The small cut burned and Kane rubbed at it with the back of his hand. When he took it away, there was blood on it.
Kane cursed himself for not being careful enough. His only thought had been for the girl and just busting into the house had almost gotten him killed.
‘Give it up, Lance,’ Kane called out. ‘It’s all over.’
‘Go to hell, Kane,’ the rancher shouted back.
‘Come on, Lance, it’s finished. They’re all dead or in jail.’
‘Chuck? Did you shoot him?’
‘Yeah.’
A loud curse was followed by the discharge of the second barrel of the shotgun. This time, the door took the brunt of it and a fist-sized chunk was torn away.
Kane looked around the corner of the doorway and saw Lance climbing the stairs. He fired twice at the rancher and his bullets gouged plaster from the walls. He aimed to fire once more but Lance had made it to the landing and disappeared.
Kane edged through the door and crossed warily to the stairs. No sooner h
ad he placed a foot on the bottom step when Lance reappeared. He’d discarded the shotgun and was now armed with a pistol.
He fired twice, both slugs burned through the air close to Kane’s head and ricocheted off the marble floor behind him, hammering into the wood panelling of the wall.
Kane snapped off two more shots but they passed through empty space and smacked into the wall because Lance had disappeared once again.
The gunfighter climbed the stairs and once on the landing, took shelter against the wall at the edge of a long hallway.
He peered around the corner and found the hallway empty. Along each side were two rooms. The doors on all four were open.
Kane ducked back and emptied the Peacemaker’s cylinder of the four empty cartridges. He replaced them with fresh rounds and snapped the loading gate shut.
With that done, Kane stayed put and listened. At first, all he could hear was the sound of his own heavy breathing but then he heard a soft whimper drift down the hallway from one of the rooms. It could only be Elsie Hamilton.
Kane stepped out into the hall and on to a board that telegraphed his presence with a loud creak. Alarm ran through him and he dropped to his right knee.
Lance appeared from the second doorway on the left and wildly fired his six-gun three times. Two of the slugs went high and after trying to correct his aim, Lance’s third one tore through Kane’s jacket and scored a red furrow along his left shoulder.
It threw the gunfighter’s aim and the shot he fired missed but the bullet sprayed Lance’s face with splinters.
The rancher reeled back into the room and disappeared from sight.
Kane lurched to his feet trying to ignore the dull burning sensation in his shoulder. He moved swiftly along the hall and stopped just outside the room. From inside he could hear the soft, scared cries of Elsie Hamilton. Then Lance’s voice whispered harshly, ‘Shut up, damn it.’
‘Let the girl go, Lance,’ Kane called out.
‘Now why would I do that and lose the only thing I have to bargain with?’
‘Because if you don’t I’ll come in there and kill you.’
‘I don’t think so, Kane,’ Lance sounded confident. ‘You see, I have her in front of me and my six-gun is pointed right at her pretty little head. You do anythin’ silly and she’s apt to get hurt.’
‘What do you want, Lance?’ Kane asked him.
‘What I want is for you to get on your horse and get the hell outta here.’
‘And let you get away with killin’ all of those innocent people?’
‘They’re on my land, damn you!’ Lance snarled.
‘It’s their land, Lance,’ Kane reminded him. ‘It never was yours.’
‘It’s always been mine!’ Lance shouted. ‘I fought for it and they have no right to be there!’
‘I tell you what, Lance, let Elsie go and I’ll let you ride out.’
‘I already told you how it’s goin’ to be,’ the rancher said calmly. ‘I’ll give you to the count of three to hear your boots goin’ back along the hall. If I don’t, then it’s all over for the kid.’
Kane heard Elsie’s muffled cry and deduced that Lance had his hand over her mouth.
‘One!’ Lance shouted.
Kane looked down at the Peacemaker in his fist and drew in a deep breath. He closed his eyes then let it out slowly until he felt his entire body relax.
‘Two!’
Kane’s eyes snapped open and he moved swiftly. His frame filled the doorway and his six-gun was levelled at Lance. It thundered loudly in the confines of the room and the rancher’s head snapped back as the .45 slug smashed through his skull.
The unfired pistol dropped from Lance’s lifeless hand and thudded on to the carpeted floor. He fell backward and knocked over a small table which stood beside an iron-framed single bed.
‘Three,’ Kane finished as he stared at the dead man.
Elsie Hamilton screamed loudly and dropped to her knees, sobbing. Kane holstered his gun and rushed forward. He knelt down in front of her and wrapped his arms around her trembling form.
‘It’s OK,’ Kane soothed. ‘It’s all over now.’
He scooped her up and carried her out the door. Then along the hall and downstairs to the shattered doors.
He sat Elsie on the horse and climbed up behind her. Then he pointed the chestnut towards the grandiose arch he’d ridden through the very first time he’d come to the B-L connected. They passed under it and headed back to town.
Chapter 16
When the door to the doctor’s recovery room opened, the last person Martha Hamilton expected to see walk in was Kane. The surprise showed on her face and her mouth opened and closed as she tried to make words come out.
‘Dang, if it ain’t the first time I ever saw her lost for words,’ Brock Hamilton said dryly from where he lay in the bed.
‘Elsie?’ Martha finally said.
Kane smiled and stepped aside as the Hamilton’s little girl burst in and threw herself into her mother’s arms.
‘Oh my lord,’ Martha gasped, her eyes filled with tears of joy and relief. ‘You’ve brought our baby back to us.’
Brock looked at Kane, emotion clear in his face as well. ‘I don’t know what to say. Thank you.’
‘Yes, thank you,’ joined in Martha. Then she asked, ‘Is it over?’
Kane nodded. ‘You can go home whenever you like.’
‘What about Lance?’ Brock asked.
‘You don’t have to worry about him anymore,’ Kane informed them.
‘I’m sorry you had . . .’ Martha paused. ‘You know, about your brother.’
Kane nodded. ‘What do you plan on doing now?’
‘I don’t know,’ Kane shrugged. ‘Another job maybe. Another town.’
‘Why don’t you hang around Buford for a while?’ Hamilton suggested. ‘I’m sure that the town could use a man with your skills. After all, we’re goin’ to be needin’ a sheriff here now.’
Kane opened his mouth to rebuke the suggestion when there was a knock at the door. It swung open and in walked Rio and Utah.
‘They said you were back,’ Rio explained. ‘Hope you don’t mind the intrusion, ma’am?’
Martha shook her head. ‘No. It’s fine, really. Are you the two men who helped Lucas earlier?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘Then we are grateful to you too. I’m sure that without your help we would never have our Elsie back.’
‘We didn’t do much, ma’am,’ Rio said. ‘We just sort of stood there and looked scary.’
‘We were just tellin’ Kane how much the town needs a sheriff now,’ Hamilton explained.
A big smile split Rio’s face. ‘Were you now?’
‘What’re you smilin’ at?’ Kane snapped.
Rio winked at the Hamiltons. ‘Oh, nothin’. Although I must admit it sounds a lot better than ridin’ herd on a bunch of cows.’
Kane gave him an indignant look. ‘I told you the last time we met that I happen to like cows.’
‘So I recall.’
Six months later
Kane eased his buckskin to a stop on top of the hill and looked out across the Cottonwood Creek range. A lot had happened since what was now referred to as the ‘Homesteader War’.
The homesteaders were finally able to build homes for themselves without fear of being ambushed by raiders. Most of them now had houses and barns built and were able to obtain all the supplies that they needed from town.
The three remaining gunmen were tried and convicted of murder. All of them were hung for their crimes.
Perhaps one of the biggest changes was the town itself. After a meeting, the town committee voted unanimously to change the town’s name from Buford to New Hope in an effort to erase the past.
The other big change was Buford Lance’s once-great B-L connected ranch. It had been broken up, ironically for quarter sections and the first wagon train of settlers were due in the following week.
The Hamiltons were
offered the B-L connected ranch house but they declined the offer. Instead, they rebuilt with the help of the homesteaders and the town.
A noise behind Kane interrupted his thoughts and he hipped in the saddle to see who was approaching.
Riding up the back side of the slope was Utah. The young man drew his horse up beside Kane and asked, ‘Where are they?’
‘About a mile further on,’ Kane explained. ‘They’re hidden up a gulch. Where’s the sheriff?’
‘Rio happens to be a little busy at this time,’ Utah explained. ‘His words not mine. So he sent his deputy to handle this affair.’
‘Lisa?’ asked Kane.
Utah nodded. ‘Yeah, Lisa. Somehow I figure it ain’t just her cookin’ he’s interested in.’
Kane smiled. ‘You could be right.’
Utah looked at Kane’s hip where the Peace-maker once sat. Now he wore nothing. The six-gun hung on a peg in his small shack built on his own quarter section, a reminder of the life he once lived.
‘I thought you might be carryin’,’ Utah observed.
‘I got my Winchester. Besides, I got the law with me. What could possibly go wrong?’
‘Yeah, what?’ Utah said sceptically. ‘Anyway, let’s go and find these rustlers that have your cows.’
‘Yeah, let’s do that.’