“That horse ever answer you back?”
Startled, Perley stepped away from the fire, grabbing his rifle as he dived for cover behind a tree, searching frantically for where the voice had come from. It didn’t sound very far away.
“Whoa! Hold on a minute, feller,” the voice exclaimed. “Ain’t no need for that there rifle.”
“I’ll decide that after you come outta your hidin’ place,” Perley responded and cranked a cartridge into the cylinder of the Winchester.
“Hold on,” the voice came back again. “I didn’t mean to surprise you like that. I shoulda sang out a little sooner. I was just passin’ by on the trail up there on the ridge and I saw your fire, so I thought I’d stop and say howdy.” A short pause followed, then he said, “It always pays to be careful to see what kinda camp you’re lookin’ at before you come a-ridin’ in. I’m comin’ out, so don’t take a shot at me, all right?”
“All right,” Perley answered. “Come on out.” He watched cautiously as his visitor emerged from the darkness of the trees above the creek, alert for any sign of movement that might indicate there were others with him. When he felt sure the man was alone, he eased the hammer back down, but still held the rifle ready to fire. Leading a dun gelding with a mule following on a rope, his surprise guest approached the fire. “You’re travelin’ these back trails pretty late at night, ain’tcha?” Perley asked.
“Reckon so,” the man replied, “but with all the outlaws ridin’ these trails lookin’ for somebody to rob, it pays for a man alone to travel some at night.” He looked around at the loaded packs and the horses grazing close by. “Looks like you’re gettin’ ready to travel, too, from the looks of your camp. I smelled your fire from the ridge back there. Thought maybe I might get a cup of coffee, but I see you’re ’bout ready to pack up.”
“I was thinkin’ about it,” Perley said. “Where you headin’? Deadwood?”
“Nope, the other way. I’ve seen Deadwood. I’m ready to go back to Cheyenne.”
Perley studied the young man carefully for a few moments. A young man, close to his own age, he figured. There was nothing unusual about him, unless you counted the baggy britches he wore, that looked to be a couple of inches short, and the shirt that looked a size too big. Perley decided he was no threat. “Well, I’ve got plenty of coffee, so I reckon I can fix you up with a cup. What about supper? You had anything to eat?”
“As a matter of fact, I ain’t. I had that thought in mind when I caught sight of your camp. I’d be much obliged. My name’s Billy Tuttle.”
“Perley Gates.” He waited for the man to ask the name again, which was the usual response. When he didn’t, Perley said, “Take care of your animals and I’ll make us a pot of coffee. It’s kinda late to go any farther tonight, anyway, so I think I’ll just stay here. You like venison? ’Cause that’s what I’m cookin’ for supper.”
Billy said that would suit him just fine. He’d been living on sowbelly and little else for the past couple of days.
Perley soon decided there was nothing to fear from his surprise guest. As he had said, he was focused on getting back to his home in Cheyenne.
Perley guessed the young man was also short on supplies. “You any kin to Tom Tuttle there in Cheyenne?”
“He’s my pa,” Billy replied. “You know him?”
“I’ve done some business with your pa,” Perley answered. “Matter of fact, I sold him a couple of horses when I stopped at his stable one time. He’s a good man.”
It didn’t take long before Billy told the story of his attempt to make his fortune in Deadwood Gulch, a story that left him headed for home with empty pockets. It was a story all too common in boomtowns like Deadwood and Custer City.
“So you partnered up with a couple of fellows and they ran off with all the gold the three of you found?” Perley summed up.
“That’s a fact,” Billy confirmed. “It wasn’t but about four hundred dollars’ worth. Wouldn’ta paid us much when we split it three ways, but it was still a helluva lot more than I came out here with.”
“I swear,” Perley commented. “That’s tough luck, all right. Did you know these two fellows before you partnered up with ’em?”
“No, I just ran up on ’em one mornin’ and they looked like they could use a hand, so I went to work with ’em, building a sluice box. Wasn’t long before we started strikin’ color, and it wasn’t long after that when I woke up one mornin’ and they was gone. Cleared out while I was asleep.”
It was hard for Perley not to feel sympathy for the unfortunate young man. He couldn’t help thinking that Billy’s experience sounded like the kind of fix that he carried a reputation for. He thought of his brother Rubin saying If there wasn’t but one cow pie on the whole damn ranch, Perley would step in it. He had to admit that sometimes it seemed to be true.
Maybe he and Billy had that in common. “So whaddaya plan on doin’ now? Go back and help your pa in the stable?”
“I reckon,” Billy replied, then hesitated before going on. “Pa ain’t gonna be too happy to see me come home. I think he was hopin’ I’d stay on out here in the Black Hills.”
That was surprising to Perley. “Why is that?” Tom Tuttle impressed him as a solid family man. He had to admit, however, that he had only a brief acquaintance with him.
“The woman Pa’s married to ain’t my mama,” Billy said. “Pa married her when my mama died of consumption. She’s my stepmother and she’s got a son of her own about my age. She’s talked Pa into turnin’ his business over to her son when Pa gets too old to run it, and I reckon I’m just in the way.”
Perley didn’t know what to say. In the short time he had dealings with Tom Tuttle, he would not have thought him to be the type to abandon his own son. He had compassion for Billy, but all he could offer him was common courtesy. “Well, I’m sorry to hear you have troubles with your pa, but if it’ll help, you’re welcome to ride along with me till we get to Cheyenne. I’m guessin’ you ain’t fixed too good for supplies.”
“You guessed right,” Billy responded at once. “And I surely appreciate it. I won’t be no bother a’tall. I’m used to hard work and I’ll do my share of the chores.”
“Good,” Perley said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Truth be told, a stranger as a traveling companion was close to the last thing he wanted, considering what he was carrying on his packhorses. He didn’t intend to get careless, even though Billy seemed forthright and harmless. Close to Perley’s age, Billy might come in handy if they were unfortunate enough to encounter outlaws on the road to Cheyenne.
After the horses and Billy’s mule were taken care of, the two travelers ate supper, planning to get an early start in the morning.
“Here,” Billy insisted, “I’ll clean up the cups and fryin’ pan. I’ve got to earn my keep,” he added cheerfully. After everything was done they both spread their bedrolls close to the fire and turned in.
* * *
Perley was awake at first light after having slept fitfully, due to a natural tendency to sleep with one eye open, even though he felt he had nothing to fear from Billy. He revived the fire and started coffee before Billy woke up.
“Here I am lyin’ in bed while you’re already at it,” Billy said as he rolled out of his blankets. “Whatcha want me to do?”
“Just pack up your possibles and throw a saddle on your horse,” Perley said. “We’ll have a cup of coffee before we get started, eat breakfast when we rest the horses.”
It didn’t take long for Billy to load the few items he owned on the mule, so when he finished, he came to help Perley. “What’s in the sacks?” He saw Perley tying two twenty-five-pound sacks on each of his packhorses.
“Kansas seed corn,” Perley answered casually. “I found a store in Deadwood that had about four hundred pounds of it. Ain’t nobody in Deadwood wantin’ seed corn, so I bought a hundred pounds of it at a damn good price. Gonna take it back to Texas and start me a corn patch. If I’d had a couple more hor
ses, I’d a-bought all he had.” He made a point then of opening one of the sacks and taking out a handful to show Billy. “You can’t get corn like this in Texas.”
Billy nodded his head politely, but was obviously unimpressed, which was the reaction Perley hoped for. Packed up and ready to go, they started the first day of their journey together, following the road toward Custer City, heading south.
* * *
The second night’s camp was made by a busy stream halfway between Hill City and Custer. By this time, Perley’s supply of smoked venison was down to only enough for another meal or two. Then it would be back to sowbelly, unless they were lucky enough to find some game to shoot. Perley was not inclined to tarry, considering the gold he was transporting. As somewhat of a surprise to him, he found Billy just as eager to put the Black Hills behind them, considering what he had said about his father.
Curious, Perley asked him, “What are you aimin’ to do when you get back to Cheyenne? You think your pa really won’t be happy to see you back?” He couldn’t believe that Tom Tuttle would kick his son out.
“Oh, I ain’t worried about that. I don’t wanna work in the damn stable, anyway. I’ve got a few ideas I’m thinkin’ about.”
“What kinda ideas?” Perley asked.
“Yeah, what kinda ideas?” The voice came from the darkness behind them. “Maybe stealin’ gold from your partners, stuff like that, huh, Billy?”
“Don’t even think about it,” another voice warned when Perley started to react.
He had no choice but to remain seated by the fire.
A tall, gangly man stepped into the circle of firelight. He was grinning as he held a double-barreled shotgun on them. “Come on in, Jeb. I’ve got ’em both covered.”
In another second, he was joined by a second man, this one a bull-like brute of a man. “Hello, Billy. I see you got you another partner already. It took me and Luke awhile before we tracked you down. Seems like you took off so quick, you must notta realized you took all the gold, instead of just your share.”
“Whoa, now, Jeb,” Billy exclaimed. “You know I wouldn’ta done nothin’ like that. Luke musta buried it somewhere else and forgot where he put it.” He looked at the lanky man with the shotgun. “What about it, Luke? Ain’t that what musta happened? You were awful drunk that night.”
His question caused Luke to laugh. “I gotta give you credit, Billy, you can make up the damnedest stories I’ve ever heard.”
Jeb, who was obviously the boss, said, “We’ll see soon enough when we take a look at the packs on that mule.” He stared hard at Perley then. “Who’s this feller?”
“His name’s Perley Gates,” Billy said, causing both of the outlaws to laugh.
“Pearly Gates,” Luke echoed. “Well, ain’t that somethin’? Looks to me like he’s carryin’ a helluva lot more than you are. Maybe ol’ Pearly struck it rich back there in the gulch and now he’s packin’ it all outta here.”
Perley spoke then. “If I had, I reckon I’d still be back there in the gulch, lookin’ for more.” Angry that he had been taken so completely by surprise, it didn’t help to learn that Billy had fooled him, too. Not only was he a thief, he had brought his troubles to roost with him.
“Damn. He talks,” Luke mocked. “We’ll take a look in them packs, too.”
“You’re makin’ a mistake, Jeb,” Billy said. “Pearly ain’t got nothin’ in them packs but supplies and some kinda fancy seed corn he’s fixin’ to plant. If you think I stole your gold dust, then go ahead and look through my packs.”
“Oh, I will,” Jeb replied, “you sneakin’ rat. Luke, go through the packs on that damn mule. There’s five pounds of dust in ’em somewhere. That oughta be easy to find.” When Billy started to get up, Jeb aimed his pistol at him. “You just set right there and keep your hands where I can see ’em.”
Caught in a helpless situation, there was nothing Perley could do but sit there while Luke rifled through Billy’s packs. When he glanced at Billy, he saw no sign of concern in his face. Maybe he really hadn’t stolen their gold, but it sure seemed like his former partners were convinced that he had.
“Ain’t no need to make a mess of my stuff just ’cause you was wrong,” Billy complained when Luke started throwing his possessions around in frustration.
“Shut your mouth!” Jeb yelled at Billy. “Look in his saddlebags,” he said to Luke then.
“I told you I ain’t got your gold,” Billy argued. “Looks to me like maybe you oughta be askin’ Luke where that dust is. All I wanted was to get the hell outta that creek after you shot that feller. I figured you and Luke could have my share.”
Jeb shifted a suspicious eye in Luke’s direction. “I don’t reckon somethin’ like that mighta happened, could it, Luke? I mean, we was all drinkin’ kinda heavy that night. Last thing I remember before I passed out was you holdin’ that sack of dust and talkin’ about what you was gonna buy with your share. When I woke up the next mornin’, you was already up and Billy was gone.”
“Hold on a minute!” Luke blurted out. “You’re lettin’ that lyin’ son of a bitch put crazy ideas in your head. Me and you been ridin’ together long enough for you to know I wouldn’t do nothin’ like that.”
“You looked through all his packs and there weren’t no sack of gold dust,” Jeb reminded him. “Whaddaya suppose happened to it?”
“How the hell do I know?” Luke shot back, then nodded toward Perley, who was still a spectator at this point. “Most likely it’s in his stuff. Billy musta put it on one of his packhorses.” He turned and started toward Perley’s belongings, stacked beside his bedroll.
“This has gone as far as it’s goin’,” Perley said, getting to his feet. “You’ve got no call to go plunderin’ through my things like you did with Billy’s. Billy just hooked up with me last night and he wouldn’t likely just hand over five pounds of gold dust for me to tote for him, would he? You can take a look at what I’m carryin’, but I’ll help you do it, so you don’t go tearin’ up my packs like you did with Billy’s.”
His statement caused them both to hesitate for a moment, surprised by his audacity. Then they both laughed at his obvious stupidity.
“Mister,” Jeb informed him, “you ain’t got no say in what we’ll do. It was bad luck for you when you joined up with Billy Tuttle. I’m tired of jawin’ with both of you.” Without warning, he said, “Shoot ’em both, Luke.”
“My pleasure,” Luke said and raised his shotgun to fire. Before he could cock the hammers back, he was doubled over by a .44 slug from Perley’s Colt.
Jeb’s reaction was swift, but not fast enough to draw his pistol before Perley’s second shot slammed into his chest. He was already dead when his weapon cleared the holster and fired one wayward shot in Billy’s direction.
Billy howled, grabbed his leg, and started limping around in a circle. “Damn, damn, damn . . .” He muttered over and over as he clutched his baggy trouser leg with both hands.
Perley holstered his .44 and moved quickly to help him. “How bad is it? Let me give you a hand.”
“It ain’t bad,” Billy insisted. “I can take care of it. You make sure them two are dead. I’ll take care of my leg.”
“They’re both dead,” Perley said. “Now sit down and I’ll take a look at that wound.” He paused then when a peculiar sight caught his eye. “What the—” was as far as he got before he saw a tiny stream of dust spraying on the toe of Billy’s boot, not understanding at once what he was seeing. When he realized what it was, he looked up to meet Billy’s gaze.
“Looks like I sprung a leak,” Billy said, smiling sheepishly. “The son of a bitch shot a hole in my britches.”
Perley said nothing but continued to stare in disbelief.
Billy tried to divert his attention. “Man, you’re fast as greased lightning. You saved both our lives. I ain’t never seen anybody that fast with a handgun.” He was hesitant to move his foot for fear of causing the gold to mix in the dirt beneath it.
Perley’s gaze was still captured by the little pile of gold dust forming on the toe of Billy’s boot. “You caused me to kill two men you stole gold from,” he said, not at all pleased by the fact.
A little more apprehensive now that he had seen Perley’s skill with a gun, Billy countered. “Let’s not forget that they was fixin’ to shoot us. There weren’t no doubt about that. I saw ’em shoot a man at a placer mine and take that little five-pound sack of dust. That’s when I decided that weren’t no partnership for me.”
“So you cut out and took the gold with you,” Perley reminded him. “Looks to me like they had good reason to come after you.”
“Well, they didn’t have no right to the gold,” Billy said. “’Specially after they killed him for it.” When it was obvious that Perley was far from casual when it came to the taking of a man’s life, Billy tried to change his focus. “I reckon you’ve earned a share of the gold, and I don’t mind givin’ it to you. I figure I’ve got about sixteen hundred dollars’ worth. That ’ud make your share about eight hundred.”
When there was still no positive reaction from Perley, Billy tried to make light of the situation. “And that ain’t countin’ the dust runnin’ outta my britches leg.” He hesitated to make a move, still not sure what Perley had in mind. “All right if I see if I can fix it?”
“I reckon you might as well,” Perley finally said, not really sure what he should do about the situation he found himself in. He was still feeling the heavy responsibility for having killed two men, even knowing he had been given no choice. The one called Luke had been preparing to empty both barrels of that shotgun. There had been no time to think.
“I don’t want any share in your gold,” Perley said. “Go ahead and take care of it.”
Billy’s expression was enough to indicate that he was more than happy to hear that. He immediately unbuckled his belt and dropped his britches to reveal two cotton bags, one hanging beside each leg from a length of clothesline tied around his waist. Perley could hardly believe what he saw. Jeb’s wild shot had drilled a hole straight through Billy’s trouser leg and the cotton bag hanging inside.
A Reason to Die Page 2