by Ralph Cotton
“I have our newest convert here, Father. He can’t wait to tell you what he’s already learned from our instruction session.”
Jessup grinned at Rudy, then said to Brother Paul, “By all means, let’s hear what our young convert has to say.”
Brother Paul led Jim Heady forward. Heady deliberately kept his face turned downward and away from the Gun’s tortured body. “There now, Brother Jim,” said Brother Paul, “tell Father what you’ve learned already.”
Jim Heady sank to his knees and said in a tight, fearful voice, “God is good! Father is good!”
“Eh?” said Jessup, cocking an ear toward the kneeling convert. “I didn’t quite hear you. Speak up now.”
“God is good. Father is good. God is good. Father is good!” Jim Heady said loudly.
Heady started to repeat himself, but Jessup laid a hand on his bare head, stopping him for a moment. “Brother Paul, I have to say, you are truly gifted when it comes to teaching the unbelievers.”
Rudy had seen all he could take. “Get off your knees, Heady, you spineless son of a bitch!”
Hearing Rudy, Heady began chanting again, his voice growing louder as if to drown out Rudy’s words. “God is good. Father is good! God is good. Father is good!”
“Come on, Preacher, you low snake!” Rudy shouted. “Let’s get it over with. I’d rather die and go to hell than live on the same piece of earth you’re on!”
Jessup gave him a flat, harsh grin, stroking Jim Heady’s hair while Heady droned on repeatedly. “Then go to hell you shall, sir.” He turned to Brothers Searcy and Edmunds. “Take them away. I’m done with them.”
Hearing Jessup’s words, Jim Heady wrapped his arms around the reverend’s leg, pleading in fear, “Not me! Not me! Not me!”
“No, not you, child,” said Jessup, again patting and stroking his head. “You just continue reciting for me. I love hearing you say those words.”
Chapter 17
Two days passed before Randall Turner could maintain consciousness for any longer than a few drifting moments. The wound in his head was a graze, but it was a deep graze, one that shattered his skull bone severely. Callie had to prepare herself for seeing the terrible wound before she could clean and dress it without her hands shaking unsteadily. When Randall finally managed to stay conscious long enough to eat some warm broth, he looked at Callie, CC Ellis and Dillard standing over him and asked weakly, “Am I…able to ride yet?”
“Randall,” said Ellis as gently as he could, “you’re not even able to sit up yet without passing out. I know you want to go get your wife away from Jessup, and I don’t blame you. But if you don’t sit still long enough for your skull to mend, you’ll die and Jessup will win, hands down. Do you understand me?”
Randall let out a breath, knowing Ellis was right. “I’m obliged…for all you folks…have done for me,” he said haltingly. “I’ll try to lay still…a while longer.”
“Good,” said Callie. “Now you two sit here quietly for a moment while I go get you some cool water to drink.” She looked down at Dillard, saying, “Come along, Dillard. You can help me draw water.”
Randall’s blurry eyes followed her until she was out of the room. Looking back at Ellis he said, “I think…I figured it out. You’re here to keep…her and the boy from being swallowed up by Jessup…the same way he did Delphia and me.”
“Yep, that’s it,” said Ellis. “Our plan was to slip away without Jessup noticing. But now that he’s been here and we’ve come close to locking horns, it’s not going to work the way I wanted it to.”
“And I took your best horses,” Randall commented. “So…now you can’t even try to outrun him.” He shook his bandaged head slightly. “I’m sorry. I never meant to cause you trouble.”
“I know you didn’t,” said Ellis. “And if I was you, I would have done the same thing. So say no more about it. You’ve shown me that Jessup can’t be outrun anyway. He’s got too many followers for that to happen.”
“What are you going to do?” Randall asked.
“It’s a poker game for now,” said Ellis. “I wait and see what Jessup puts on the table next, see how much he knows. I’m hoping I might still ease the woman and her son away from him some way. But for now I can only wait and see what his next move might be.”
“Kill him,” said Randall, a strength seeming to return to his voice for a moment. “That’s all that can stop him. He talks about God…like the two of them are one and the same. But underneath the pretense, Jessup is nothing less than the devil from hell.” Randall began to shake; his eyes took on a dark cast.
“Easy, Randall,” said Ellis.
Behind him the door opened and Dillard ran in wide-eyed and excited, saying to Ellis, “Mother says hurry! Come quick! One of the Brothers is riding into the yard!”
“Here we go,” Ellis said under his breath, his hand instinctively going to his holstered Colt.
“Help me up. I’m with you,” Randall said, struggling to raise himself.
But Ellis pressed him back down to the bed. “No, stay put! If you want to help me, keep quiet in here! Let me get rid of him. If Jessup finds out you’re here, he’ll kill you.”
Randall lay back and stopped struggling.
“Stay here with him, Dillard,” said Ellis, heading out the door. He stepped out onto the porch at the same time as Callie came running up from the well.
“I’ll get the shotgun!” she said, stopping only long enough to make sure Ellis saw the rider come around the turn in the trail and up toward the house.
Ellis caught her by the arm before she could get past him. “Get it, but stay inside with it,” he said, his eyes on the rider, watching him come closer by the second.
“All right,” said Callie. “I’ll be at the window.
Letting her go, Ellis stepped over the front edge of the porch and stood with his feet shoulder width apart, his hand resting near his big Colt. When the rider stopped six yards back from the porch, Ellis called out, “What can I do for you, mister?”
“Mr. Mosely,” said the rider, “I’m Brother Paul Chapin from the Community of Believers in Paradise. Father Jessup sent me to clear the air between you and our folks after what happened here the other night and bring you some good news.”
“I didn’t realize the air needed clearing,” Ellis replied. “But if you’ve rode out here in peace, you’ll leave here the same way.”
“Much obliged, Mr. Mosely,” said Brother Paul. “It might interest you to know that Father and his wife have been reunited, and the man who caused all the trouble is dead.” Under his breath he added, “May God condemn his soul to everlasting hell.”
“That’s harsh,” said Ellis, “but I’m glad everything is settled.” He breathed a little, knowing that Jessup and his men thought Randall Turner was dead.
“Harsh, yet fair when seen through the eyes of God,” said Brother Paul.
Ellis wasn’t going to debate the matter of what things looked like through the eyes of God. “Whatever you say, Brother Paul,” he said. “Through my eyes, I came out of it losing a couple of horses I couldn’t afford to lose. But I expect I’ll recover from my loss sooner or later.”
“That’s the good news I bring to you,” said Brother Paul, offering a stiff, unpleasant smile. “Father said to tell you we have your horses, and you are free to pick them up in Paradise any day of your choosing. As a token of friendship, he insists that there be no livery fee for feeding and boarding them until you come for them.”
“I am most pleased to hear that, Brother Paul,” said Ellis, “and most obliged to Father Jessup for his hospitality.”
“Very well. When can I tell Father to expect you?” He stared at Ellis with the same unpleasant smile, awaiting an answer, as if knowing that he had just put the other man on a spot.
Staring back at him with poker eyes, Ellis said flatly, “I’ll be there first thing in the morning. I wouldn’t have my horses eating away at your generosity.”
“Tomor
row morning,” said Brother Paul, with deliberation. “He will be expecting you then.”
“Tomorrow it is,” said Ellis, seeing the man turn his horse to leave. “Feel free to water yourself and your horse before leaving.”
“Thank you, but both my horse and myself are fine.” Brother Paul touched the wide brim of his flat-crowned hat, turned and gigged his horse back toward the trail to Paradise.
Stepping out onto the porch before Brother Paul was out of sight, Callie moved in close beside Ellis and said, “Jessup knows, doesn’t he?”
“I think so, Callie,” said Ellis, “but I can’t be sure of it. So I’m going in for the horses in the morning, just like I said I would.”
“You can’t take a chance like that, Ellis!” Callie said. “If he knows you’re an impostor, you will never come back from Paradise!”
“If he does know, then we’re already at his mercy anyway,” said Ellis. “I can die here or I can die in Paradise. At least by going there for the horses, I have an outside chance that he doesn’t even suspect I’m not your husband. If that’s so, we get the horses back and can still try to slip out of here.”
“But he knows you’re not Sloane Mosely and he’s just luring you into town, you’re dead!” said Callie.
“If dying in Paradise keeps you or the boy from catching a bullet, then that in itself is worth something to me.”
“And that might be exactly what Jessup is counting on you thinking,” said Callie.
“If it is, then I salute him for it.” Ellis stared off at the rise of dust left standing in the air by Brother Paul. “Maybe that’s the way it should be. There’s no point in you and the boy dying.” He gave her a stern solemn look.
“How dare you?” Callie spat. “I’m not going to give myself over to that pig of a preacher! I’ve told you, I’ll die first!”
“I know what you’ve told me, Callie,” said Ellis. “But riding into Paradise is the best play in this game right now. You’ll have to trust my judgment, if you can’t see that yourself.”
Callie settled down, looked out at the rise of dust, then said quietly, “All right, go to town. I’ll take care of Randall. I’ll wait for you. But if Jessup shows up instead of you, I want you to know here and now that I went down fighting.”
Ellis thought about things for a moment, then said, “Callie, I’ve got to tell you some things—things I should have told you sooner, but I couldn’t bring myself around to it.”
She looked it him expectantly, but hesitated as she asked, “This is about Sloane, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” said Ellis. “You see, I knew Sloane Mosely.”
“Knew?” Callie said. “Then he is dead?”
Ellis nodded solemnly. “Yes, by now I expect he is.”
“How did he die?” she asked, after a moment of sad contemplation.
“That’s the part I’ve been having trouble figuring out how to tell you, Callie,” Ellis said.
“How did my husband die?” she asked more firmly. “I need to know, in order to tell his son.”
“You won’t want to tell Dillard how his father died, Callie.” Ellis took a deep breath and said, “Sloane Mosely hanged for the killing of a bank guard down in Texas.”
“No!” Callie gasped, and staggered back a step before Ellis caught her by her arms and eased her down into a wooden chair.
Looking at the door and window to make sure Dillard wasn’t in hearing range, he said quietly, “I know this isn’t the right place or the right way to tell you about this, but I thought I better, before I ride into Paradise.”
“And how is it you knew my husband?” she asked. “Did you actually know him, or did you just happen to know of his fate?” She stared at him as if dreading to hear his answer.
“We rode together some, Callie. Not all the time, but some. I’m not going to lie to you, I’m an outlaw. I believe you thought as much when you found me beside that creek and brought me here.”
She didn’t answer. Instead she said, “And those men you met in Paradise the other day? They also knew Sloane, didn’t they?”
“Yes, they did,” said Ellis. “Those men, your husband and I are all a part of the same gang. Sloane only took up with us the past couple of years. The rest of us have been robbing ever since the end of the war. The man you saw in Paradise, Rudy Banatell, recognized you from a picture Sloane carried in his pocket watch case.”
Seeing no reason to doubt anything Ellis was telling her, Callie sighed. “That explains some things. There was a time just about a couple of years ago when my husband and I were struggling to get by. He’d lost his position with the Midwestern Detective Agency. Although he was little more than a hired gun for the agency, losing the income hurt us badly. But then he made a trip to Texas, to see about some money owed him from an old friend, supposedly. After that trip our financial worries were over.”
The expression in Ellis’s eyes confirmed for her that this would have been the time her husband joined up with Rudy and the gang.
Callie’s expression seemed to sharpen as she looked into Ellis’s eyes and recalled that time. “When he came back he had enough money to hold us over for a long time.”
“I know,” Ellis said softly.
Callie continued. “But before three weeks had passed, he had to make another trip, this time to look at some land in Missouri. I all but begged him to wait another week, but for some reason he had to get going. Now I realize he had to meet up with the rest of you, didn’t he?”
Ellis only nodded, lowering his eyes a bit.
“I suppose I should have realized he was up to something,” Callie said. “Perhaps I looked the other way, not wanting to admit to myself that my husband had gone afoul of the law.”
“Callie, whatever your husband did, you can’t blame yourself for it. I didn’t know Sloane Mosely as well as I know the rest of the fellows, but I knew him well enough to know that he loved you very much. I expect at the end of every man’s life, if we went looking for something bad in him, we’d find it most every time.” As he spoke, he reached out a hand and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “All I can tell you is not to look for it.”
Tears glistened in her eyes but did not fall. “Did you come here knowing I was his wife? Were you coming to tell me about him when you were ambushed alongside the creek? Did Sloane send you?”
“No,” said Ellis, “I almost wish that was the case. Then I could have told you straight up what had happened to him and there would have been no secret to keep from you.”
“You would have told me, then gone on your way?” Callie asked.
“I would have told you, Callie,” Ellis replied. “As far as leaving, I can’t say. There would have still been the problem with Jessup to deal with. I would have still seen your face in my dreams.” He offered a trace of a smile. “Who can say how it might have gone? But since I wasn’t here to bring you a message on Sloane’s behalf, I couldn’t bring myself to tell you what he’d done, or how he’d died. That would have been betraying one of my own.”
“I can’t say that I understand that sort of thinking,” Callie said, “but it is the kind of alliance men seem to respect among themselves. It’s what Sloane would have done, given the same situation, I’m certain.”
Ellis hesitated for a moment before saying, “Callie, there’s something else I want to tell you. Before his execution, Sloane Mosely insisted that Rudy and the rest of us come rob the bank in Paradise.”
Callie shook her head slightly. “I don’t understand.”
“I believe Sloane Mosely wanted Rudy and the rest of us to come to Paradise, knowing that Jessup and his men would ride us down crossing Wolf Valley.”
“You don’t mean that Sloane wanted to get all of you killed, do you?” she asked in astonishment.
“No,” said Ellis. “If you knew these men as well as I know them, as well as Sloane knew them, you’d realize that it wouldn’t be us who died—it would be Jessup and his men.”
“You
mean…” Callie’s words trailed as she pondered what he’d said.
“I believe that even though your husband knew he was going to die, he tried to see to it that you never fell under Jessup’s rule.”
“Yes,” Callie said, “that is something Sloane would try to do. Whatever else he might have been, or whatever he might have done, he loved Dillard and me. I’ve never doubted that.”
“That’s why I want to get all this said. It might have been no more than simple fate that brought me to the creekbank. It might have been nothing but circumstance that drew you and me together. But I like to think that maybe Sloane Mosely knew what might happen here if you were left alone, and maybe he would even approve of us being together. Anyway, this is what I wanted you to know before I ride out to meet Jessup.”
“I’m glad you decided to tell me,” said Callie. She squeezed his hand gently.
“I figured I had to,” said Ellis, “as close as we’ve been, as much as you and the boy have come to mean to me. If something goes wrong in Paradise, I’d want you to know that I never intended to take advantage. I’ve been a long rider and a man of intemperateness most of my life. But I have never misused a woman. And I would especially never misuse someone as precious to me as you are.”
“Ellis,” she whispered, drawing him to her in an embrace.
“I had to get that said, Callie,” he whispered in reply.
“Why does life always take the hardest path?” she asked in a hushed tone against his ear.
“I hope you don’t want me to try answering that one,” he said, clinging to her tightly, his eyes closed.
Chapter 18
Night shrouded the vast, rugged terrain when CC Ellis put the big silver stallion forward in the light of a half-moon, riding down the last stretch of sloping hillside into Wolf Valley where the trail turned toward Paradise. He had told Jessup through Brother Paul that he would be there first thing in the morning. But something told him it would be wise to try slipping into town under the cover of night.