Sathow's Sinners

by Marcus Galloway

  As for Frank, he kept to himself. He stayed busy tending to the normal duties required along the way such as making and breaking camp, cooking, tending to the horses and anything else that needed doing. Nate had once heard the preacher mention something about the simple purity of putting things in order. For Frank, the notion applied to any and all things. When he set things right, he was just as happy springing an innocent man from jail as he was in making sure there was enough wood in the pile to keep a fire going. He did both tasks with the same amount of vigor and enthusiasm.

  It was their fourth night of the ride, and Frank was contentedly stirring a pot that bubbled with a pungent odor. “What’s in there?” Pete asked after a quizzical sniff. “Don’t smell like squirrel.”

  “We finished off the last of the squirrel for breakfast,” Frank replied. “This is rabbit.”

  “Don’t smell like rabbit.”

  “It had plenty of meat on its bones, so it’ll do just fine.”

  Deaugrey shifted in the rut he’d dug for himself using his restless backside. “Plenty of fat is more like it. That rabbit was the slowest of the lot that we flushed out of those bushes. That means it was the fattest.”

  “It’s what we have,” Frank said with an easy smile. “And it’ll be just fine.”

  “Makes me nervous when he gets so quiet,” Pete said while staring at Frank. “Usually only happens right before things go from bad to worse.”

  “When the bunch of us are gathered up by Nate Sathow,” Deaugrey said, “things don’t usually go any other way.”

  “You can leave if you want,” Nate pointed out.

  Deaugrey shrugged and dipped a spoon into the stewpot. “I’m not complaining. This beats the hell out of being trussed up and tossed into a locked room.”

  It wasn’t often that Nate knew exactly where Deaugrey was coming from and it was even rarer for him to not be frightened by that prospect.

  After taking his sample of the stew, Deaugrey raised his eyebrows and nodded in appreciation. “Not that I don’t enjoy all of this time beneath the majesty of the stars and enough cold air to make me pucker in places I’d rather not mention, but are we anywhere close to having a bed to sleep in for a change?”

  “Joplin ain’t far from here,” Pete reported.

  “Then why don’t we ride the rest of the way into town?” Deaugrey asked as he sat bolt upright. “We could make it!”

  “Sure we could.”

  “Excellent! Then—”

  Stopping Deaugrey with a backhanded swat, Nate said, “There’s a good reason why we don’t just ride into town without breaking stride.”

  “You’re all gluttons for punishment,” Deaugrey muttered. “That’s the reason.”

  Speaking in a tone that was just as merry as if he were talking about a recipe for pumpkin pie, Frank said, “We’re close to whatever Dog Ear and Keyes have built up. Whatever it is, they surely want to protect it. Keeping watch on the town would be a standard precaution, so we won’t ride in like a parade. We’ll trickle into town throughout the day like normal folk. Do you think this stew needs more salt?”

  “Pepper,” Deaugrey said grudgingly.

  “We don’t have pepper.”

  “Of course you don’t. Gluttons, I tell you.”

  “The preacher’s right,” Pete said. “I been to Joplin, and there’s men keeping watch on the trails coming into town as well as at the train station and stagecoach office.”

  “Were they armed?” Nate asked.

  “No. They was just scouts.”

  Deaugrey let out a breath. “There,” he sighed. “You see? They weren’t even armed. That’s a good thing.”

  “No,” Nate said sternly. “If they were armed, they’d probably be posted there to meet anyone looking to intrude on Keyes’s business. If they’re scouts, their job is to take any news back to their employer and bring back however many gun hands are necessary to deal with a problem. Are you certain they were Keyes’s men, Pete?”

  “I recognized a few of them as having run with Dog Ear Pescaterro,” Pete replied. “From what I hear lately, that means they’re most likely taking orders from Keyes as well. I didn’t recognize every last one of them scouts, but my gut tells me they’re all keeping watch for the likes of us.”

  “And that’s good enough for me,” Frank said.

  Nate nodded and helped himself to some stew. “Me too. According to that miner I spoke to, Keyes and Dog Ear were headed for a train depot outside of Joplin. Did you happen to see anything like that while you were out and about?”

  Pete laughed so hard that he dribbled some of his stew into his bushy beard. Using the back of his hand to wipe it away, he said, “If you know one man who could scout ahead for the best path to ride while also visiting train stations and picking out which men lingering on the outskirts of town are vagrants and which are scouts and still have the time to look around for train depots . . . I’d like to shake his hand.”

  “Just checking,” Nate said. “You and me can have a look tomorrow. Frank, see what you can do to figure out which of those men Pete found really are working for Keyes and how many of them we need to worry about.”

  “What about me?” asked Deaugrey anxiously.

  “You can keep your head down, your mouth shut and stay out of trouble for once.”

  Deaugrey made a sour face and said, “You can’t be serious.”

  “A man can hope, can’t he? If that’s too much to handle,” Nate told him, “then you can go into Joplin and put your ear to the ground. See if anyone knows much about Keyes. If he’s planning on putting those weapons he bought to use, he’ll need more men and that means recruiting. As for Pescaterro . . .”

  “Right,” Deaugrey said sharply. “I know just where to go for word on Dog Ear. There’s a few stops he’ll want to make after being locked away and then spending so much time on the trail. In fact, I might wanna join him in a few of those ventures. Not join him per se, but—”

  “I know what you mean, Grey,” Nate cut in. “Just get the job done. We’ll all head out after first light tomorrow. Got that?”

  There were nods all around.

  “Sathow is back on a schedule,” Deaugrey mused. “Once again, all is right with the world.”

  With that, the conversation disbanded. Pete looked for a comfortable spot away from the glow of the fire, Deaugrey sat so close to the flames that he nearly set his sleeves alight, and Nate stepped away to stare into a southern sky colored by the distant glow of Joplin, Missouri. He rolled a cigarette using a pouch of tobacco purchased from one of the merchants that Deaugrey had swindled and by the time he was lighting it, he was no longer alone.

  “You’re not planning on riding off on your own, are you?” Frank asked.

  “Too dark,” Nate replied.

  “I mean once you learn where Keyes is holed up. Don’t forget, the job was to track down Pescaterro.”

  “I know what the damn job is.”

  “You tend to take things personally sometimes. If I didn’t know any better, I might think you were sending Grey out knowing he’ll draw too much attention to himself as a way to force a fight with Keyes and the others before we’re ready.”

  Nate looked over to him, only to get an unwavering stare in return. The tip of the cigarette glowed as he inhaled, casting a deep red light on the bottom portion of his face. “You don’t have to ride along if you don’t want to.”

  “See? You’re high-strung at the moment. Perhaps it would be better if—”

  “Grey will be fine,” Nate said. “I’ve worked with him more than you have and trust me, he’ll be much easier to handle after he’s blown off some steam. Besides, he’s good at his job.”

  “All right. Then you should know I’m good at my job also.”

  “Your job is to watch our backs.”

  “It’s als
o to make certain the lot of you don’t step too far out of line,” Frank pointed out. “Considering your history with Keyes, recent and otherwise, someone might think you’re overly anxious to face him again.”

  “Whether we’re just after Pescaterro or not, we’re gonna have to face Keyes.”

  “Yes. Just watch yourself. He’s not only loaded for bear, he’s ready for a small war.”

  Nate drew a deep, smoky breath and let it out in a stream of fragrant smoke. “Consider me warned. Thanks, Shep.”

  “Tell me something,” Frank said. “You were planning on riding into whatever fortifications Keyes has, burning down his men and worrying about those weapons and fortifications later. Am I right?”

  The next breath he took caused the cigarette to flare up even brighter. After holding its smoke in him for a spell, Nate let it out while savoring the acrid taste that was left behind. Eventually, he said, “Not anymore.”

  “Good,” Frank said as he gave Nate’s shoulder a friendly pat. “I knew there wasn’t anything to be concerned about.”

  After Frank had wandered off for some solitude, Nate made his way back to the fire. Deaugrey was still sitting there and looked over to ask, “Who’s Shep?”

  “Pardon me?”

  “I’ve heard you call Frank ‘Shep’ once or twice. What’s that about?”

  Nate shrugged. “The Lord is his shepherd and on more than one occasion, Frank has been mine.”

  “Does that make you a sheep?” Deaugrey asked.

  “Shut up and get to sleep.”

  “Baaaaaa!!”

  25

  Late the following afternoon, Nate found an answer to his telegram waiting for him in Joplin’s wire office. It read:

  LEAVING NEBRASKA NOW STOP

  WILL SEND WORD BEFORE TRAIN ARRIVES STOP

  AC

  He told Pete about it when the tracker returned from his most recent scouting run.

  “More people on the job?” Pete grumbled. “That gonna take a bite out of our pay?”

  “If things go right, there’ll be plenty of pay to go around. Now tell me what you’ve been doing to earn your share.”

  The first thing Pete mentioned was a small train depot just south of town. It was fed by a rail line switching off of the main one that stretched all the way to St. Louis. Almost immediately, Nate climbed into his saddle and followed the tracker out for a closer look.

  The depot Pete showed him consisted of two buildings: one small shed and a longer structure about twice the size of a modest ticketing office nestled at the bottom of a wide gulch with hills on one side and woods on the other. At the moment, the only movement to be seen came from a few horses drinking water outside the shed and a trio of men sitting on the porch of the larger building with their feet propped up on the front rail.

  Nate and Pete had left their horses about a quarter mile back on the slope of the hills facing away from the depot. After a roundabout walk, they eventually picked a spot where they could lay on their bellies and look down at the depot through a set of field glasses which they passed back and forth.

  “Doesn’t look like much,” Nate said as he examined the larger building. “But it sure isn’t a depot used by any railroad line. At least, not anymore. There’s a bigger one about three miles from here and another on the western outskirts of Joplin. Both of those would be much easier to supply than this one here.”

  “That’s why I brought you here instead of any of them other depots. I doubt anyone with illegal intentions would choose to run their business out of a train station or depot that’s still bein’ used by the railroads.”

  “Looks like this place was used by one of the companies at some point,” Nate said while studying the old signs that were now warped by rain and gathering dust from the damp Missouri winds.

  Pete’s eyes were so sharp that he rarely needed anything like field glasses. He squinted and stared at roughly the same spot as Nate while probably seeing close to the same amount of detail. “Most likely, that was a supply station used during the construction of these tracks. Could have also been used for some large venture related to the town itself. Joplin was built on all the jack that was pulled up from these hills.”

  “Jack?” Nate asked.

  “Zinc.”

  “Doesn’t look very busy.”

  “It sure was when I first found it,” Pete said. “There were twice as many horses tied out front and at least three more armed men standing guard near that smaller building.”

  “Looks close to deserted now,” Nate said while lowering the field glasses so he could shoot a sideways glance toward Pete.

  The tracker nodded once. “Sure does.”

  “Maybe now’d be a good time to take a closer look?”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Pete replied.

  The two of them worked their way slowly and steadily toward the depot. Since the slope of the hill facing the two structures was mostly bare and fairly steep, they circled around and into the woods on the opposite side. Once they had the thick cover of trees for protection, they could move a bit faster. Their progress was slowed, however, by the constant need to stop and wait to see if anyone had spotted them or heard their movements. As near as they could tell, nobody had.

  Fortune smiled on them when two of the men who’d been guarding the place walked over to their horses, climbed into their saddles and rode toward Joplin. Although that was encouraging, Nate and Pete knew better than to take that as a signal to hurry up and march straight toward the depot.

  After several more minutes of cautious progress, they arrived at the edge of the woods and gazed out at the back end of the depot’s largest building.

  “I doubt we’ll get a better chance than this if we’re gonna get a close look at that place,” Nate whispered.

  “There could still be guards lurking about.”

  “That’s why I’m the only one that’ll break from cover. If anyone comes after me, I’ll lead them off in another direction and you can take a look.”

  “And if there are even more guards who see me?” Pete asked.

  “Then this just wasn’t our lucky day, now was it? We didn’t come all this way to turn back now, so stay put, keep your head down and keep those eagle eyes open for anything that might pose a threat.” Without another word, Nate drew his Remington and moved into the clearing that marked the outer perimeter of the lot where the depot had been built.

  Setting his sights on a door atop a set of three stairs next to a wide window, Nate hurried across the stretch of open ground without once looking back. He didn’t need to check to make certain Pete was covering him. Whether the tracker liked the plan or not, Pete wouldn’t leave a partner high and dry. He made it to within five or six paces of the building when Nate heard the crunch of boots against gravel and dirt. Someone was walking along the closest side of the building directly in front of him and would round the corner within seconds.

  Nate shifted his weight to the balls of his feet and lowered his stance while holding the Remington so he could easily fire a shot at anyone who stepped into view. A half second later, something rustled in the trees. It was either a mighty big animal or a tracker of Nate’s acquaintance making as much noise as possible. Either way, the sound caught the attention of whoever was approaching the corner.

  The footsteps halted. Someone grumbled to himself in a rough voice. When the footsteps started up again, they moved slightly faster.

  Even though there wasn’t much of anywhere to hide, Nate hunkered down to lean against the railing of the short set of stairs leading up to the door. The man who came around the corner would have spotted him easily if he hadn’t already been looking at the trees several yards away. He carried a rifle, which was also pointed at the woods. Nate took advantage of the opportunity he’d been given by holstering his pistol and rushing over to the rifleman.

 
His distraction bought Nate enough time to get to the rifleman, but just barely. Nate was about to take the rifle away from him when the man pivoted and drove the rifle’s stock into Nate’s midsection. Nate twisted to the side, allowing the rifle to glance off of him rather than land flush. From there, he grabbed the rifle with both hands and used his momentum as well as his muscle to try and pull it away from its owner. While the rifleman was surprised, he wasn’t about to be disarmed so easily.

  “Anstel’s got some set of balls sending just one of you bastards,” the rifleman snarled.

  “One’s all it takes,” Nate replied.

  That put an angry sneer on the rifleman’s face as he tried even harder to reclaim his weapon from Nate’s grasp. Nate resisted for a second or two and then shifted his efforts into the opposite direction. When he snapped the rifle around toward its owner, Nate met no resistance whatsoever. In fact, the rifleman was taken off his guard to such a degree that he pulled the contested weapon straight into a blow ending with the rifle’s barrel cracking him in the jaw. Nate followed up by twisting the rifle around to thump its stock solidly against the other man’s stomach. When the rifleman doubled over, Nate slammed the side of the rifle against the other man’s temple to drop him into a heap on the ground.

  Turning toward the source of the distraction that had made his attack possible in the first place, Nate found Pete waving at him. Once he had his attention, Pete pointed toward the smaller building. Nate didn’t see anyone over there, but trusted that Pete had and concentrated on getting into the larger building.

  His first stop was the large window, which turned out to be mostly painted over. The only spot that wasn’t blacked out was a wide strip along the top which was too high for Nate to reach. Next, he tried the door. To his surprise, it was unlocked. Unfortunately, the iron-reinforced door just past the first one wasn’t.

  Nate still hadn’t seen the other guard that Pete had spotted, but every instinct he had was screaming at him that his time had run out. There was just enough space between the two doors for the outer one to swing about halfway inward. Stepping inside and pulling the outer door shut, Nate sidestepped along the interior wall while bringing the rifle he’d taken up to his shoulder.