Bucking the Odds

by Robert O' Hanlin

  He was a weak man with little to offer her, but being a woman alone was a scary prospect so she married Randolph Wilks. The marriage only lasted five months and ended with Randolph being killed in a bar fight leaving her two months pregnant.

  She told Barney the story but never told it to Will, but then he never really showed any interest in learning more about her. What she didn’t know was he had the interest but did not want to come between her and Barney if there was anything between them. Seeing them together at the store and when he joined them for supper, it appeared that they were getting along real well.

  Chapter 5

  The Deckers had stumbled away from the campsite with two of the boys carrying their brother Pete. Moses was fuming as they walked carefully on their stocking feet. They stopped down the road at a place where they could bury Pete and covered him with a pile of rocks.

  The whole time they were piling the rocks on Pete, Moses was cursing the man who killed him and cursing the other boys for letting him get killed. He vowed he would see that man dead. They continued walking toward the river the next day, but it was slow going as their socks soon wore through and they were on their bare feet.

  When they reached the river they walked north along the bank hoping a boat would show up. They walked for five days until they saw some smoke in the distance and then Moses knew he would get some help.

  They walked up to the cabin along the side of the river and before going any closer they called out.

  “Hello the house, is anyone home?”

  A man came to the door and looked at the men standing in front of his cabin, all with no pants or boots on. He had been living on the river for three years now and he made his living cutting wood for the passing riverboats. It was not a great living but it kept him in grub enough so he could last through the winter, and in those three years he had never seen anything like what was standing in front of him.

  “Howdy gents, looks you been through some hard times, names Lawson.”

  He looked them all over carefully as he spoke and he saw that none of them had guns.

  “Come on in and have some coffee.”

  He stood back as the four men entered the small cabin. Moses looked carefully around as his eyes adjusted to the inside of the cabin and he saw what he was looking for…a rifle stood leaning in the corner. The man followed them in and went to the small stove with a coffee pot sitting on it. As he started to pour the coffee he continued his questions.

  “So how’s it come you are walking around this country without any pants or shoes?”

  Moses was easing himself toward the corner.

  “We was held up and robbed and put afoot like this…are you alone way out here?”

  The man turned with two cups of coffee, handed them to the boys and turned back for more.

  “Yep, been alone out here going on three years now.”

  Before he had a chance to turn with the other coffee Moses grabbed the rifle and fired into his back knocking him across the hot stove and on to the floor, where he didn’t move.

  “You boys look around and clean out what you can.”

  While the boys started tearing up the cabin he drank his coffee and casually looked at the body on the floor. There wasn’t much of value but they stripped off his boots and pants so one of them could have something to wear. Of course that ended up to be Moses.

  They found a wagon behind the cabin and a little ways off a horse in a small corral. Now armed with a rifle, a little bit of food and a method of travel other than walking they set out up a small trail that led away from the river. The boys were quiet, they knew not to talk while Moses was in a mood like this but Horace, being the oldest broke the silence.

  “Where we headed, Pa?”

  Moses looked back at his three boys riding in the back of the wagon.

  “We’re going to follow this trail to the nearest town and get some guns, horses, clothes and boots and we are gonna go and kill us the snake that did your brother Pete.”

  He patted his belly.

  “I got me a money belt with enough to get us by until I look down on the dead face of that varmint.”

  They travelled for two days and they finally arrived a small community that had sprung up along the big river. Williston wasn’t much but it did have a general store and a saloon both of which the Deckers made use of. They armed themselves with rifles, pistols and some supplies and then headed for the saloon.

  There they met a man who had some horses and after some haggling they traded the wagon and the old nag along with some cash for some new fresh horses. They also found out from him who they were looking for as he knew about the store that Barney ran. Most everyone in the country had heard about the store as news seems to travel fast even in a sparsely populated area.

  Before they left town that night they searched the horse trader out and paid him a visit, and when Moses shot him and took his money back John wondered why.

  “He told us about the Bronson store so he would have known that is where we were headed. You can’t leave any loose ends boy.”

  Carefully covering their tracks it took them three days to reach the Bronson Store, and when they rode up carefully in front the boys dismounted and went in, leaving Moses watching outside.

  Barney was busy sweeping some flour that spilled.

  “Howdy, can I help you?”

  Horace did the talking.

  “Is this your store and is that your wagon in the back?”

  Barney smiled, still holding the broom.

  “Yes it is, but it’s not for sale if that’s what you’re asking.”

  All three med drew their guns and started firing knocking Barney backwards into the small pile of flour on the floor. Julia was in the back room and she looked through a crack in the boards in time to see the three men running out the door. She was just about to open the door and go to Barney when the man she recognized from the night at the fire came in.

  She stopped and stood still knowing that he would not hesitate to shoot her too, but he turned quickly and ran out as well.

  Moses was cursing at the boys when he came out.

  “You damn idiots, you shot the wrong man.”

  He looked around and saw three riders coming at a gallop from different directions.

  He mounted quickly.

  Let’s get out of here….we’ll finish this later.”

  They spurned their horses and galloped down the road.

  Julia was the first to reach Barney and although he had been hit many times and his shirt was soaked with blood, he was still alive. Will bolted through the door his gun in hand and after a quick look around he ran to Barney’s side. Julia went to get some water and a cloth in hopes to stop the bleeding while Will knelt and held Barney’s head on his knee. He started to speak but Barney shushed him.

  “N..not much t..time. Give my half of the store to Julia…p..promise me.”

  Will looked at his brother and they both knew he was dying.

  “I promise Barney…”

  Before he could add any more Barney spoke again.

  “S..she likes y..you Will.,,,look after her.”

  Those were his last word as he went limp in Will’s arms.

  Julia arrived back with a pan of water and some cloths, but drew to a halt when she saw Will cradling Barney in his arms…she knew Barney was gone.

  Curley and Texas Jack both arrived at the same time and covered the door with their guns drawn.

  Julia was sobbing heavily now, and Will stood up and held her in his arms. The sobs finally subsided enough for her to speak.

  “It was them…the ones from the fire. I saw it but I couldn’t stop it…it happened so fast, they never gave him a chance. Then the old man came in and looked at Barney and I heard him yelling at the boy’s that they shot the wrong man.”

  She began sobbing and leaned into Will again. Curley was putting a blanket over Barney and Will’s mind was racing…it was his fault that his brother got killed. He had n
ever expected anything like this. He had told Barney about his having to shoot the man by the fire, but neither of them expected it to go any further.

  He held Julia away from him.

  “There is nothing you could have done, they would have killed you too if you had shown yourself…but now it’s up to me to do something.”

  She looked him in the face and saw something she had never seen on his face before….anger.

  “Will, let the law handle this, that’s the way Barney would have wanted it.”

  He shook his head as if trying to clear it.

  “The law…there isn’t any law out here, There are soldiers at Fort Union but they don’t get involved in civilian things. Are you suggesting that I just let them ride in here and kill Barney and ride away scot free?”

  She didn’t know how she could answer that question because in her heart she also felt like chasing them down and killing them. She knew the feeling was wrong for her but was it right for him.

  He turned to the two faithful riders waiting by the door.

  “Can you boys help me get Barney out of here so we can lay him to rest? There is a small flat place in the rise above the store with a good view of the store and the ranch…we’ll put him there.

  The boys carried Barney wrapped in the blanket out to the spot that Will had said and they dug the hole. When Will and Julia arrived they were all ready, and they laid Barney gently in the hole.

  Will and the others took off their hats and Will spoke.

  “We don’t talk as much as we should Lord but I’m here to tell you that Barney was a good man…the best. He lived by the good book and treated everyone fairly. I know the good book says that vengeance is yours, but in this case I’m going to help you. I promise Barney and you Lord that I will hunt down the men that did this and send them on for your judgement…amen.”

  They covered Barney up and while Julia stayed saying some words of her own he headed back to the store with the others following him. Texas Jack was the first to speak.

  “We’re gonna ride with you Will.”

  Will stopped suddenly and turned to them.

  “No you’re not, you are going to stay here and look after your families. These men know they shot the wrong man and they may come back. I won’t be taking any foolish chances, but I will get them.”

  They could see by his expression that there was no use arguing, they had never seen him like this but they knew how determined he was about everything he did, so they assumed that this would be no different.

  He went to the store and got some supplies and ammunition for his guns and was coming out when Julia arrived.

  “Is there nothing I can say to stop you from going?”

  He was about to mount and he turned back to face her.

  “I have to do this Jule…it was my fault and I couldn’t live with myself letting those killers run free. Just before he died Barney told me he wanted you to have his share of the store, and I’m sure you can run it, so I guess that makes us partners.”

  They stared at each other for a minute each wanting to run into the other’s arms, but neither moved and he turned and mounted.

  “Tell Rusty I’ll be back soon and tell him he’s becoming a good cowboy.”

  He turned his horse and trotted off. He had a few hours of daylight left and he was good at following a trail. It was easy to follow at first because the horses had left at a gallop and kept that way for a couple of miles.

  He continued to follow when they came to a walk and he figured they wouldn’t go far because he knew that they knew they killed the wrong man, and he felt sure they would want to try again. He had to find them before they went back to the ranch for that chance.

  He didn’t explain it to Julia, but he knew that the old man was probably feeling like he feels now and want to get his revenge. He could not let that happen and take the chance of anyone else at the ranch getting hurt or killed because of his actions.

  Night was falling and he knew soon he would not be able to follow the tracks so he looked ahead for possible places for them to stop and spent the night. There was a stand of trees across a couple of big ravines that looked like a likely spot…and there for a moment he thought he saw a whisp of smoke.

  He looked again more carefully but it was gone and he was losing the light so he rode on, being more careful now. By the time he crossed the two ravines he was in full darkness and nearing where he thought the trees would be he smelled smoke.

  He felt certain that it would be them, but he could not take the chance that it was someone else, so he tied his horse up and took his rifle and continued on foot. It was slow going as there was a lot of brush and he could not afford to make any noise.

  His mind was racing….if it was them he would be outnumbered as there were four of them. All during the ride to here he was just thinking about getting them in his rifle sights and he would shoot without any warning, just like they did to Barney and like they did into their blankets back at the fire.

  He knew he was dealing with cold blooded killers who had no conscience about killing a woman and a boy….so why should he give them a chance? He was smelling the smoke stronger now but he had not heard any talking or sound of movement, so he inched closer through the thick brush being careful not to make a sound.

  He was thinking that they had picked a good place to camp with all the protection of the brush but he was a patient man and didn’t mind moving so slow. Then he came to a spot where he could see through the brush and there were three of them sitting around a fire. They weren’t talking they were just drinking coffee and sitting.

  For a fleeting moment he wondered where the fourth man was as he took aim at the one who had is back to him, he knew it was the old man, and he began to squeeze the trigger, but he hesitated….could he shoot a man in the back?

  It was a question that would remain unanswered. At the snap of a twig he turned sharply to his left and there not more than ten feet away was a man. He saw his shape clearly in the darkness, but did not see the rifle in his hands and both guns went off at the same time. He was knocked backward onto some saplings that gave some under his weight but held him upright.

  His glanced at the spot where the man was but there was no longer and outline of his figure. He felt he must have hit him or he would still be firing. With that thought racing through his mind there came several shots crashing into the brush around him and then a man yelling.

  “Stop shooting you damn fools, you’ll hit Horace!”

  He looked back at the fire but there was no one visible. Now he straightened himself up from the leaning saplings and stood for a moment getting his balance. He knew he had been hit hard and he headed back into the brush to find his horse. Wounded and in the pitch black it was hard making his way through the brush, but luckily he came out only a few feet from his horse.

  He shoved the rifle in the boot and pulled himself up on the horse. He was feeling sick to his stomach and weak as he rode off. He knew that once they saw the blood, and knew he was wounded, they would follow him, so he dared not lead them back to the ranch.

  He also knew he would have to get to a doctor or someone who could care for his wound, so he headed to the northwest, in the direction of Fort Union. There was an army doctor at the fort and he looked after most of the people in the town that had grown up around the fort, and this is the man he must get to.

  Suddenly it was early morning and the day was just breaking and he was leaning on his horse’s neck. He pushed himself up in the saddle and saw that although he was covered in blood the bleeding appeared to have stopped.

  Still dazed he looked around to get his bearings and there right beside him was a cemetery…he knew this place was the Poker Jim Cemetery. Poker Jim was a cowhand that worked on one of the ranches to the north of him and although he had never met him he knew his story.

  He loved playing poker and he always carried a deck of cards with him. It was said that he would play for anything from money to matchsticks
. He was stuck in a line shack with two other cowboys waiting out a bitter storm and their food was running out so they played a hand of poker to see who would ride to get more food.

  Poker Jim won, or in this case lost, and when the storm started to let up he headed out with the blessing of the other two. He had not gone very far when the storm started up again with a wicked fierceness.

  Poker Jim looked for some cover and found a large rock to huddle behind and that was where they found him…frozen stiff sitting in front of a small pile of sticks that he never got lit. The boys had to wait two more days before they were able to go and search for him and they took his frozen body back to the line shack.

  The ground was too hard for them to dig a hole to bury him so they put him in the rafters of the outer building in hopes to keep predators from getting at it until the spring when the ground thawed. Time passed a bit and three other riders stayed in the outer building. That night they were playing poker when Poker Jim’s body fell from the rafters onto the table in front of them.

  It seemed that the fire they had going all day to ward off the cold also thawed poor Poker Jim. Poker Jim was finally buried in the cemetery he was staring at and the unnamed cemetery suddenly had a new name…The Poker Jim Cemetery.

  He knew this was not that far from where he had been shot so he must have been passed out most of the night and his horse just wondered slowly and aimlessly about. Things were still fuzzy and his vision was not as clear, but he knew that the Davis Ranch was just to the north. The Davis’s were good people and they came to the store often for their supplies.

  His going there could bring trouble on them but he knew now he was hurt too bad to worry about that, if he passed out again for any length of time they would be upon him. He was sure they would not have tried to follow him in the darkness, but with first light they would be on his trail.

  He rode into the Davis Ranch just as Chester Davis came out to start his day’s work. Chester watched as he rode in and when he was close enough to see the blood on his shirt he let out a yell for his wife and ran to the horse in time to catch Will sliding into his arms.