by J. T. Edson
‘So you’re saying we should do like the note says, Counselor?’ asked Smith.
‘I am merely pointing out the danger,’ Yorck protested. ‘This matter could prejudice my clients’ chances if they are brought to trial, so naturally I am interested in what happens.’
‘Maybe they’d best hear about this,’ Smith suggested. ‘You allowed that you wanted to be on hand every time we questioned, or talked to, your clients, so you’d best come along.’
‘Very well,’ Yorck grunted. ‘I’ll come.’
Going to the basement, Smith read the message to the Jones brothers. Although Virgil showed no emotion, Morgan grinned triumphantly at Wil, the deputies and Yorck. Clearly the younger brother felt that they were as good as free.
‘I want a message getting to whoever sent this, Counselor,’ Smith remarked when he had finished reading.
‘How can I help?’ Yorck demanded. ‘They pinned that to my host’s door—’
‘Likely knowing you was acting for these hombres? Smith interrupted. ‘So, happen you pin up a note, they’ll find a way of collecting it. I’ll not stop them, or bother ’em in any way.’
‘All right,’ Yorck muttered. ‘I’ll do it.’
‘Maybe you’d like to write it down for me when we go back to the office?’ Smith inquired. ‘It’s this. “Warning. If Miss Shivers and Deputy Jeffreys aren’t set free and brought unharmed to the marshal’s office by noon, I’ll take out Virgil Jones and shoot him—!”‘
‘Shoot—!’ Yorck croaked and Morgan Jones stopped smiling.
‘“If they’re still not here one hour later, I’ll shoot Morgan Jones,”’ Smith continued. ‘You write it, Counselor, and I’ll sign it.’
‘Hey!’ Morgan Jones yelped, grabbing hold of the bars.
‘You can’t bluff the Friends of Justice!’ Yorck warned, glaring at the scared brother while addressing Smith.
‘I’m not aiming to try,’ the Texan replied. ‘You don’t reckon whoever’s got my deputy and Miss Shivers’ll let them go after I’ve turned this pair free, do you? They’ll know too much. Who took them and where. They’re dead if I obey. So I’ll do just what I said.’
‘Nonsense!’ Yorck snorted, but there was uncertainty in his voice. ‘You’re an officer, sworn to uphold the law.’
‘Which I aim to do, right down the line,’ Smith drawled. ‘And giving in to threats like this’s no way to do it.’
‘Miss Jeffreys—!’ Yorck commenced, turning towards the girl.
‘Don’t stand arguing, you crazy son-of-a-bitch!’ Morgan screeched, trying to grab lie lawyer through the bars. ‘Smith’s not bluffing. He’ll do it.’
‘Of course he won—!’ Yorck snapped, reversing direction and glaring at the prisoners.
Raw fear played on Morgan Jones’ face. He had learned the identity of the new peace officers and knew something of their reputations. So he had no doubt that the marshal would carry out his threat.
‘You get—!’ Morgan yelled.
‘All right. All right!’ the lawyer barked. ‘Don’t lose your head!’ Waiting until Morgan had stopped speaking, he rounded on Smith. ‘I won’t have my clients threatened in this manner!’
‘There’s no threat in it, Counselor,’ Smith replied. ‘Until noon they’ll be treated as prisoners awaiting trial. After that it is up to the Friends of Justice.’
Although he had quietened one outburst from Morgan, Yorck knew that there might be more. In his fear, the young man could easily say something that would incriminate the lawyer. Even Virgil, the older and tougher of the pair, looked nervous and uneasy.
‘Marshal,’ Yorck said coldly. ‘I wish to speak in private with my clients.’
‘That’s your privilege, Counselor,’ Smith replied. ‘We’ll go and wait in my office. Just mind one thing. I won’t have your host’s house watched, or do anything to stop my message being collected by the hombres who left this letter. I don’t want to kill these two fellers, but I’ll do it if I have to.’
‘And I’ll back Marshal Smith on his decision,’ Wil went on. ‘If we give in this once, it will establish a precedent that could be disastrous.’
Following Smith’s party from the basement, Yorck returned when he had made sure that none of them had stayed behind to listen. The cowhand, Robbie, had been released the previous night, so the lawyer and his clients were alone. Going towards the cell, Yorck could see he faced a difficult task.
‘This whole damned deal’s gone sour,’ Morgan Jones growled. ‘We never expected nothing like’s happened.’
‘And we didn’t expect your brother to shoot down a cowhand,’ Yorck replied.
‘Evan only meant to throw a scare into him,’ Virgil protested.
‘Then why didn’t you get out with him?’ demanded Yorck.
‘We aimed to give him a head start and hold them farmers off his back,’ Virgil explained. ‘Only Smith and his deputies arrived before we could pull out.’
They come so fast and ready they must’ve known we was there,’ Morgan put in suspiciously, looking the lawyer over in a calculating manner. ‘You get out to the Page place and tell your pards to do like Smith says.’
‘I agree with Brother Morg,’ Virgil went on. ‘We wasn’t told there’s a bunch of gun-hawks running the law. So we played along with your crowd. Only the water’s over the willows now. Smith’ll do what he says.’
‘I ain’t getting shot!’ Morg warned, panic in his tone. ‘So you get word to your pards, or I’ll tell Smith where to find them and who’s behind this whole deal.’
‘Don’t be stup—!’ Yorck blazed.
‘Marshal!’ Morgan shouted. ‘Hey, Marshal Smith!’
‘Shut up!’ the lawyer hissed. ‘Say anything to him and you’ll ruin everything. I’ll go and get the hostages fetched back. Your only hope of getting out of here is with our help.’
‘All right,’ Virgil said. ‘We’ll give you to noon. If you’ve not got Lily Shivers and young Jeffreys back here by then, I’m going to start talking.’
‘You want something?’ Smith asked, coming in.
‘I will do as you say,’ Yorck promised. ‘But I warn you that I will lodge the strongest protest—’
‘Time’s a-wasting, Counselor,’ Smith warned. ‘If those fellers’ve a fair way to go, you’d best not be long in getting my message fastened to that door.’
‘I’ll go now,’ the lawyer answered, throwing a long glance at the brothers. ‘And I hold you to your word not to jeopardize my clients by interfering with the collection of your ultimatum.’
‘Your clients mean nothing to me, Counselor,’ Smith drawled. ‘It’s Miss Shivers and my deputy I’m interested in.’
Returning to the ground floor, Yorck accepted the note which Smith had already written and left. He had only just gone when the Texan told Ottaway to follow him. Ottaway was to keep watch, without being seen, on Yorck’s activities. After the deputy had departed, Wil looked at Smith.
‘You gave your word—’
‘Not to stop anybody collecting that letter I gave the Counselor,’ Smith finished for her. ‘I never said I wouldn’t have a watch kept on him. Nobody’ll come. The note he gave me hadn’t been pinned to a door all night. There wasn’t even a pinhole in it.’
‘So you think that Yorck’s involved?’ Wil asked.
‘Up to his neck,’ Smith replied. ‘He’ll go to wherever they’re holding Lily and Stan, or he’ll get the hell out of town. Either way, we’ll have the answer.’
‘What if Yorck sits tight,’ Frith asked, ‘And the Joneses won’t talk?’
‘Then I’ll do what I told them,’ Smith declared. ‘Like Miss Jeffreys told the Counselor, if you once give way in this kind of a deal, you may’s well kiss law and order good-bye. And I’ll be damned if I’ll let it happen.’
Asking to be kept informed of developments, Wil left to attend to her affairs as banker. With her went the bartender, who had been asked by Smith not to talk about what he had seen and heard. Smith a
nd Frith remained at the office, awaiting the next developments. At half past eleven, Ottaway returned.
‘Yorck’s just pulled out, on the East-bound stage. He’s not seen anybody, nor left your letter on the door of the house where he’s been staying.’
‘What now, Wax?’ Frith inquired.
‘We’ll go and see the Jones boys,’ the Texan replied. ‘They’ve been sweating long enough. I reckon Morgan’ll be ready to talk.’
Hearing the clatter of boots on the stairs, the Jones brothers rose and came to the door of their cell. Although Virgil still showed little emotion, Morgan exhibited a mixture of alarm and expectancy.
‘Your lawyer’s caught the East-bound stage, gents,’ Smith remarked. ‘And he hasn’t tried to get in touch with those fellers.’
‘So?’ Virgil asked, nudging his brother in the ribs.
‘So you’re more stupid than I thought if you can’t figure out what’s happening,’ Smith replied.
‘Maybe you’d best tell us,’ Virgil suggested.
‘I think they’ve sold you down the river,’ Smith declared. ‘They want us to kill you.’
‘Why would they?’ Morgan demanded, ignoring Virgil’s warning glares. ‘They brought us here to get us our farm back.’
The hell they did,’ Frith snorted. They fetched you to be used as goats, to be butchered by the ranchers so there’d be trouble through the fair. Or arrested by us. I’ll bet they didn’t tell you how Miss Jeffreys’d brought us in to run the law instead of the regular officers.’
They didn’t,’ Virgil agreed, while Morgan muttered distractedly.
‘How’d you reckon we got to know you was in town so quick?’ Ottaway went on.
Virgil and Morgan exchanged glances. Clearly they had discussed that aspect of the affair and formed conclusions which Ottaway was apparently confirming. So Smith decided to continue rubbing home the hot iron.
‘Likely they didn’t expect to be so lucky as having Evan gun down the cow-hand. Or maybe they did. Did the two young ’n’s give you fellers any of their cigarettes?’
They offered, but only Evan took one. I chaw and Brother Morgan rolls his own makings.’
‘You were the lucky ones,’ Frith commented. Them cigarettes was drugged. I bet Evan acted strange after he’d smoked N it.’
‘He did!’ Virgil admitted. ‘You reckon them cigarettes made him act like he did, marshal ?’
‘They wanted one of you to make a fool play,’ Smith replied. ‘Or you might’ve heard that Poona Woodstole didn’t aim to press that slow-elking warrant as long as you kept clear of his land.’
‘You’re the goats for sure,’ Ottaway drawled. ‘Maybe you didn’t know it, but Wax Smith had somebody else pull the hostage game and he acted just like he did with you boys.’
‘I mind Counselor Yorck wrote to the newspapers about how no peace officer should be allowed to gun down prisoners, even if doing it did save the hostages’ lives,’ Frith continued. ‘He knowed how the marshal’d act over that letter.’
‘Anyways,’ Smith said. ‘We figured you ought to know. ‘Cause in one hour, I’ll be coming to keep my word.’
‘It’ll look like you was shot trying to escape,’ Frith went on. ‘With Yorck gone, nobody’ll know different.’
‘Miss Jeffreys’s with us on this,’ Smith warned. ‘So we can do what I said.’
With that, the Texan turned as if to leave the basement. Showing an equal disregard, the deputies followed him. The alarm and concern increased on the brothers’ faces. If Marshal Caster had made the threat, they would have ignored it. Waxahachie Smith and his deputies were an entirely different proposition. Hired gun fighters, they had nothing to lose and no fear of killing if doing so would achieve their ends. As Frith had pointed out, they could fake things so the brothers would appear to have died in an escape bid. So the brothers did not doubt that they would be killed at the appointed time.
‘Marshal!’ Virgil yelled. ‘What’s in it for us if we tell you everything?’
‘Your lives, if we get Miss Shivers and Stan Jeffreys out without them being harmed,’ Smith promised. ‘And I figure we can do that, if there’s time.’
‘They’re being held at the Page place,’ Virgil said. ‘It’s about four miles north along Widow’s Creek. You should be able to get up to the house without being seen, it’s in thick woods and there’s only them two young fellers there with Evan.’
‘Huh huh!’ Smith grunted. ‘We’ll go take a look. Tell me about the rest of it, Mr. Jones. Why’d you come back?’
‘Yorck had us fetched to his office in Cheyenne and said he’d heard how the Grange’d refused to help us get our farm back,’ Virgil explained. ‘He allowed we should come back up here and stand our trial for slow-elking ’cause he could get us off it. Those two young fellers come to help get the farmers on our side.’
‘He reckoned that we’d get off with Governor Moonlight being here for the fair,’ Morgan went on. ‘Hell, we didn’t want the farm for ourselves but we could sell it.’
Smith could see the whole scheme now. Wanting to embarrass the Grange and stir up trouble for the ranchers, the Free Land Society had found the perfect dupes. Told the basic facts, or a distorted version of them, people might believe that the Jones family had received a raw deal. Neither the Patrons of Husbandry nor the cattlemen would have emerged in a good light from the situation created by the brothers’ return. Faced with a range war, which could easily have exploded and might even yet, the Governor would be compelled to take firm action. No doubt the Free Land Society, hovering like turkey vultures, hoped to gain a considerable political advantage out of the conflict.
In which case, they might have hired the men who had tried to kill Smith, Frith and Ottaway.
‘Let’s get going!’ Smith snapped to his deputies. ‘The longer we wait, the more chance of the soft-shells learning things’ve gone wrong.’
‘Do you reckon we should all go, Wax?’ Ottaway asked as the trio returned to the marshal’s office. ‘This could be a trick on Yorck’s part to draw us out of town and set the Joneses free.’
‘It could be,’ Smith agreed. ‘I reckon that Ric and me can handle it, if you’ll tend to things here in town.’
‘You can count on me to do that,’ Ottaway promised.
Chapter Sixteen – Another Trail Peters Out
Daylight had come and gone several hours earlier. Seated on the floor of a small room in a log-walled house, Lily Shivers and Stanley Jeffreys watched Wymar leave the room. Neither of them knew where they had been brought, but had identified their captors as the two soft-shells and Evan Jones. Apart from checking that their bonds were secure and giving them a drink of water, the trio had ignored the blonde and Jeffreys. However, from snatches of conversation they had heard, the prisoners had gathered that they were being held as hostages.
‘What do you think Wax will do, Lily?’ Jeffreys inquired.
‘I’m damned if I know,’ the blonde admitted. ‘Only I’ll bet it will be something those three yacks don’t expect.’
‘Damn it all!’ Jeffreys groaned. ‘This’s me done as a deputy. Wax Smith’ll not want a feller who got taken by surprise twice in one day.’
‘I’ll bet he doesn’t hold it against you when he learns why. You stopped to see what was ailing a feller lying on the sidewalk and got cracked on the head from an alley. Fine lawman you’d make, walking by something like that.’
‘If I could only get loose!’ Jeffreys growled, having told Lily how he had come to be captured when dawn’s light had first showed him his fellow-victim. ‘Damn it all, they’ve got me fastened with dad’s old handcuffs. I’ve been carrying them since Wax took me on as a deputy.’
‘You know, Stan,’ Lily remarked, wanting to take the young man’s thoughts from his present position. ‘You’ve surprised me. Way you was acting since you came home from college, I never expected to see you take on as a deputy.’
‘Didn’t reckon Wil Jeffreys’ kid brother could amount t
o anything without big sister’s help huh?’
‘I always figured you could, if you made a stab at it. And don’t forget, I’ve near on been Wil Jeffreys’ little sister for a lot of years,’ Lily replied, then grinned. ‘Way things turned out when we tangled, I’m still that way.’
‘You sure tied into each other,’ Jeffreys smiled. ‘I wouldn’t’ve expected it of Wil.’
‘Do you reckon I’d’ve got into a fight with her if I had?’
‘I reckon you might. Lily. I’m sorry about the way I acted the night Wax hit town. Except that it made me think, that and the way he acted next day at Wil’s office. I started to see myself as other folks saw me and I didn’t like it. Trouble is that I’ve no head for the banking business and, anyway, nobody took me seriously with Wil around. So I decided to make a stab at being a lawman. Dad was pretty good at that, so I’ve always been told.’
‘He was real good,’ Lily agreed. ‘Only I bet he made mistakes when he was first starting, just like you.’
At that moment the blonde realized that Jeffreys was not listening to her. Instead, he had turned his gaze to the room’s window which had long since lost its glass and drapes.
‘There’s a horse coming,’ Jeffreys said. ‘Just one and being ridden without trying to hide it.’
Wriggling on to his back, he rolled towards the window. There, he writhed around until he was sitting supported by the wall. By bracing his back against the logs and forcing on the floor with his feet, he eased himself erect. Still leaning against the wall, he peered cautiously out of the window. He did not find an enlightening view awaiting his efforts. Fairly thick woods flanked the side of the house and, he assumed, surrounded it. There was, however, a small and winding path approaching the building within his range of vision and a rider was coming along it.
While Jeffreys had been completing his observations, Lily had joined him. Although every movement had been agony and she presented a disheveled appearance due to rolling on a dirty floor, she pressed her right shoulder against the wall and let out a low hiss as she identified the newcomer.