Murder Range

by Alan David

  He was dimly aware of running feet outside the window. The door between the cell block and the office was flung open and Barr’s hoarse voice could be heard shouting incoherently. Lobo forced himself to his knees. His right leg was afire with ripples of agony. His left shoulder was burning with pain. Barr vanished from the doorway, and seconds later Lobo heard the deputy’s voice rasping at the back of the jail.

  Stella came running into the cell. Her eyes were wide, her face ashen. Lobo heaved himself to his feet. His right leg buckled and he threw himself upon the bunk. Stabs of pure agony lanced through him. His senses swam and the cell swung and tilted.

  ‘Lobo, Lobo, are you hit bad?’ Stella cried.

  ‘I’ll be all right,’ he said faintly. ‘He was too excited to aim straight. He should have taken his time. One bullet would have been enough.’

  Gruber came through the door in his wheelchair. He gave the cell keys to Stella. The old lawman’s Colt was in his right hand.

  ‘Open that door quickly, Stella. Did you see who it was, Johnson?’

  ‘I saw him, but I couldn’t recognise him.’ Lobo hung his head as faintness tried to overpower him. ‘But I’ll know him again all right.’

  Stella unlocked the cell door and rushed in to him. She held him upright and began removing his shirt. Lobo clung to her as weakness spread inside him like a cloudburst. There was a buzzing in his ears, and Stella’s voice seemed very far away.

  ‘I’ve sent Barr for the doctor,’ Gruber said. ‘I don’t know what this place is coming to — three shootings in the jail in two days. Is he hit bad, Stella?’

  ‘It doesn’t look like it,’ she replied joyously as she stripped the blood soaked shirt off Lobo. ‘There’s a nasty flesh wound here and a burn across his shoulder blade. It doesn’t look fatal. Oh, thank God, he’ll be all right.’

  ‘I’ve got one in the right leg,’ he told them. ‘I can feel the blood running.’ He lifted his head and grinned at the sheriff. ‘You should take more care of the men you disarm and lock up. You can lose prisoners this way.’

  The doctor came in with Barr, and Lobo suffered several painful moments under the medical man’s swift and firm ministrations. He sighed his relief when the doctor rolled down his sleeves and fastened his bag.

  ‘You’ll have to keep off that leg for a day or two,’ he told Lobo. ‘The shoulder will be painful for some time, but it’ll mend. They don’t come any luckier than you, mister.’

  ‘It’s about time I had some luck,’ Lobo retorted. ‘Thanks, Doc, I feel better already.’

  ‘Take this sedative and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll feel like a new man in the morning.’

  Lobo drank the liquid concoction, and turned to Gruber. The sheriff sat his wheelchair outside the cell door, and his big Colt was still levelled at Lobo.

  ‘It looks as if you don’t trust me,’ Lobo said. ‘Or is Barr afraid he won’t get the reward money? Now will you put me in that corner cell where I’ll be safe from these sharp shooters. I don’t mind being shot at when I’ve got a gun in my hand. But this sitting bird stuff isn’t good for my nerves.’

  Gruber unlocked the other cell, and the doctor and Stella helped Lobo out of his exposed position. His right leg was now a field of red pain, and his shoulder ached and throbbed. Lobo closed his eyes and felt his strength run out of him. Blackness swarmed up to engulf him, but he fought it off. Stella bent to wrap a blanket around him.

  ‘Forget my escape for tonight,’ he muttered. ‘But come and see me in the morning.’

  ‘I shall be here early,’ she promised. ‘Leave everything to me. Try and sleep now.’ She leaned over and kissed his forehead.

  ‘I’ll come and see him in the morning,’ the doctor told Gruber as the lawman locked the cell. ‘Keep him quiet. But he should be all right now.’

  Lobo did not hear Gruber’s reply. He had passed easily into oblivion.

  Chapter Thirteen

  LOBO LAY WITH a fever for two days. He was barely conscious during that time. Delirium gripped him and he hovered between wakeful sanity and hazy nightmare.

  On the morning of the third day he opened his eyes to cold reality. Stella was with him in the cell, and a quick glance showed him that the door was open. He felt weak and helpless. His right leg was stiff and sore. He moved slightly, and pain flashed through his tightly bandaged left shoulder.

  Stella’s cool hand came down and touched his forehead. He stirred himself and looked up at her, forcing a wan smile.

  ‘Well I’m back with the living again, eh?’ he joked feebly. ‘How long has it been?’

  ‘Three days. How do you feel?’

  ‘Weak and tired. And I’m hungry.’

  ‘I’ll see what I can get you. Just stay quiet while I’m gone.’

  ‘Hey, wait a minute. What’s been happening during these three days? Has Page been arrested yet? Has Ridge done anything?’

  ‘Page is still at large. Gruber couldn’t raise a posse to ride out to the Big R. People say Ridge brought this upon himself, so he’s got to help himself. He’s still in town waiting for a crew to show up.’

  ‘I’d like to see Ridge,’ Lobo said. ‘Would you get word to him?’

  ‘I’ll go tell him. Then I’ll get you some food. You’ll feel stronger when you’ve eaten. A fever always leaves a man feeling weak.’

  Stella went out. Lobo grunted in pain when he moved. But he thrust his legs off the bunk and sat up. A painful throbbing commenced in his leg. He felt shaky all over. His knees were trembling. He tottered against the bars and his shoulder was fired with pain. He sat down again and dropped his head to his hands, his elbows resting on his knees.

  A step in the passage caused him to look up. Barr stood at the cell door.

  ‘Feeling better?’ the deputy asked.

  ‘I don’t know right now,’ Lobo replied shortly. ‘Anyone turned up from Dry Ford County yet?’

  ‘No. We haven’t even had an acknowledgement yet. Perhaps they don’t want you.’

  ‘How’s Gruber?’

  ‘Worried. Page has set himself up on the Big R.’

  ‘Someone will have to go get him.’

  ‘Well I’m not going alone.’ Barr grinned then. ‘I’m not a Lobo Johnson.’

  ‘I offered to take Page. But Gruber turned it down. If I’d been sprung loose I would have got him by now, and I wouldn’t have stopped this lot.’ Lobo indicated his bandages. ‘I’ve done a lot for this town. This is small gratitude.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Barr nodded his agreement. ‘And where’s it got you? Nowhere.’

  ‘It’s got me in here,’ Lobo retorted. He sagged a little. ‘Well, I guess I shouldn’t moan. I might have been killed. Any idea who it was shooting at me?’

  ‘None at all. I ran round the back immediately. But whoever it was, he got away in the darkness.’

  ‘He shouldn’t have missed,’ marvelled Lobo. ‘Five shots from two feet, and he didn’t kill me. One shot should have been enough.’

  ‘They’ll never shoot you to death if you were born to hang,’ Barr retorted sourly. ‘You’ve certainly set up a reputation in Pommel, and that’s ruined the job of deputy sheriff. There’s too much to live up to now.’

  A voice called from the sheriff’s office and Barr turned away. Lobo relaxed on the bunk. He noted that the door of his cell was still unlocked, and shook his head wryly. He lay back on the bunk with a deep sigh and allowed his eyes to close. Weakness flowed through him, chasing after his strength. He could feel his pulses hammering.

  ‘Are you awake, Lobo?’

  He opened his eyes to see Ridge standing at the door of the cell. He forced himself into a sitting position again.

  ‘Come on in,’ he invited. ‘The door’s not locked. That shows you what Gruber thinks of my health. Any word of Ginny yet?’

  ‘No.’ Ridge came into the cell and sat heavily upon the foot of the bunk. The rancher’s breath wheezed in his throat. ‘I’m waiting for some men to turn up. I wired Amworth two
days ago and let it be known that I’m hiring. When they show up I’m taking them out to the Big R.’

  ‘Is that so?’ Lobo studied Ridge, noting the blue-steeled sixgun in the open holster at the fat man’s hip. ‘Are you prepared to fight then?’

  ‘By God I am,’ the rancher exploded. ‘That’s why I’ve come to see you. I want you to do me a favour. I know,’ he added quickly, ‘that I brought all this upon my own head. But I’m not thinking of myself any more. I want to protect Ginny’s future, if she’s still alive.’

  ‘What can I do for you? But before you speak bear in mind that I’m a prisoner, and that I’m likely to stay one for at least fifteen years.’

  ‘I want to name you in my will as Ginny’s guardian. If anything happens to me, and it is likely to when I go after Page, I want my ranch to come to you for the three years it will take Ginny to reach twenty-one. My daughter has admitted to me that she is in love with you, and despite the fact that you are an outlaw, you’re one of the whitest men I’ve known. Page would force Ginny to marry him or sign the ranch over, the minute I cashed in. But you’ve been his stumbling block ever since you shot Gil Rawlins.’

  Lobo shook his head in astonishment.

  ‘But, Ridge, I’m all set for a fifteen-year stretch in the State Pen. I would do anything to help, but it’s got to be in my power. I did ask Gruber to let me go get Page. But he wouldn’t listen. I’m going to be off the range for a long, long time. So what can I do?’

  ‘I’m going to take care of everything. You won’t be in here a week. When I’ve got a crew together I’m going to spring you out of here. Page will get the blame for it. I’ll spread the word that his crew broke you out to lynch you. There will be a fuss, I know, but it will soon die down, and there are many places on the Big R where you can hide in comfort. Then I’ll go after Page. If I’m not killed then all will be well, but if I am I want to die easy in the knowledge that Ginny will have you to look after her.’

  Lobo sighed. He hung his head weakly.

  ‘I’ll do anything you wish, Ridge. But don’t get yourself into trouble with the law on my account. I was all set to break out of here the night I was shot. I’ll wait now until I’m well again before I make another try. But they won’t get me to prison.’

  ‘I’ll go and fetch the lawyer then. We’ll get this done legally. I’ll have ten thousand dollars paid into your bank account. If you do go to prison you’ll need something to come out to. Now I’ll run along. So long.’

  Lobo eased himself prone again. He winced as he touched his wounded shoulder. He closed his eyes and began to fall into sleep. He wondered where Page was holding Ginny. Like Ridge said — there were many hiding places on the Big R. But what would happen if Page was killed before Ginny was freed?

  Ridge returned with the lawyer. Some sort of a legal document had been drawn up, and Lobo signed it without knowing much what it was about. Barr came in and witnessed the deal, and Ridge and the lawyer departed again. Lobo sighed and drifted into a dreamless sleep, only to be awakened an hour later by the doctor.

  ‘Well,’ pronounced the medical man. ‘You’re on the mend. Those wounds are clean, and that’s something. Keep off that leg. I’ll give you another look tomorrow.’

  The doctor left and Lobo went back to sleep. He remained asleep for the rest of the day, unaware of Stella’s many visits and gentle ministrations as he lay helpless. The lamp was burning in the passage when he opened his eyes again, and he realised immediately that he felt very much stronger.

  Stella looked into the cell. When she saw he was awake she hurried away, to return within minutes with a tray of food. While she sat at his side he ate, and watched her face. She was so good and capable. His hard expression softened. She was the first person in many a long year to show him kindness. Was it a spontaneous generosity or did she feel that she owed him something because he had helped and risked his life for her?

  ‘You’re looking much better,’ she told him happily. ‘The doctor said you’d be up and about in a day or two.’

  ‘That’s a joke.’ He laughed harshly. ‘I’m not going anywhere except, when I’m fit again, on a long ride to Dry Ford County. They want me in Cedar Creek for several jobs I did. And they want me in half a dozen states for a dozen different crimes. I’ll be lucky if I get out of jail inside of twenty years.’

  ‘I’ve been talking to Reuben Ridge. He’s not a bad sort of a man when you get to know him. He says he can get you out of here.’ Stella sounded confident. ‘I do believe he could put things right. He has a lot of influential friends in politics.’

  ‘Ridge is going to get himself killed by Page, and that’s all,’ Lobo said. ‘He’s trying hard to make amends for the mistakes he’s made, and I admire him for that. But Page is too good for him. They should turn me loose. I’d soon settle Page.’

  ‘Ridge told me of the arrangement he’s made with you, Lobo.’ Stella’s face showed her concern. ‘He said Ginny is in love with you. Are you in love with her?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ he replied slowly. ‘I feel something for her. Perhaps it is attraction, because she told me when I met her that she’d been in love with my picture for three years. I think I’m in love with you, Stella. I’m not one of these rambling Romeos. I never had much to do with women in my wild life. There was a cantina woman or two, but nothing deep and worthwhile.’

  ‘Ginny is a strong-minded girl. She’s half wild and full of passion. If she loves you she will determine to have you, and I shouldn’t like to say what she isn’t capable of if she doesn’t get what she wants. Don’t play fast and loose with her, Lobo.’

  ‘No, Stella.’ He took her hand. ‘I’ve been on a long winding trail through life. But I think I’m coming to the cross trail, the one I missed when I was a kid. It’s not going to be easy for me to get back on the straight and narrow. I shall have a long prison sentence to serve before I’m really free. I could escape, but I’d have all these old frustrations with me again; hard riding, loneliness and fear. I’ve lost all of that in here, Stella, and I don’t think I want to take it up again. I’ve been a long time realising that vengeance isn’t worth the twisted life an avenger must lead. I think I’m about ready to pay for my badness in the hope that one day I’ll really know what it is to be a free man.’

  ‘A woman would wait a long time for a man who thinks like that,’ Stella said softly, her eyes shining. ‘But not the kind of woman Ginny Ridge is.’

  ‘I wouldn’t ask any woman to wait for me. It wouldn’t be fair. Just think of all the wasted years.’

  ‘It wouldn’t matter to a woman in love. I would wait for the man I loved if I knew he loved me.’ Stella squeezed his hand, picked up the tray and went out. ‘Sleep well, Lobo,’ she said from the doorway. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’

  Barr came in and locked the cell door and turned out the light. But Lobo did not sleep. He lay quiet in the darkness, analysing his emotions. He didn’t feel hard inside any more. The wall which he had built up in his heart was gone, as if smashed and dissipated by the bullets that had struck him. His unswerving devotion to vengeance had melted, had run out of his system with the blood that had dripped from his wounds. A lightness filled his chest.

  Eventually he slept, and did not awaken until Stella came into the cell block with his breakfast. ‘You’re looking almost your old self, Lobo,’ Stella greeted him. ‘How do you feel?’

  ‘Ready to make a break,’ he replied softly. ‘This evening, Stella. Have the horse ready. I’ve got to get away. I’ve been thinking it over. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life rotting away in jail.’

  ‘May I come with you?’ she pleaded. ‘I’ve got nothing to tie me here to this range. I’d like to get away from all the heartache I’ve found here. And you’ll need someone to take care of you until you’re well again.’

  ‘Saddle your horse as well, and perhaps we can make a go of it somewhere. But don’t say I haven’t warned you. It’ll be a hard life. No matter where we go t
here’ll always be someone who knows me. Being on the dodge is no life for a woman. You’ll find that out before we’ve gone many miles.’

  ‘I don’t care,’ she said, grasping his right hand. ‘Just let me come. That’s all I ask, Lobo. Let me come with you.’

  ‘All right, if that’s the way it is. You’d better lay in a stock of grub. We’ll have a long haul for the first week. Barr seems set on collecting that reward money for capturing me. He looks the type who would follow me to California and back.’

  ‘You’ve made me the happiest woman in the world,’ she whispered.

  ‘Don’t let Gruber or Barr see you making preparations or they may get wise to us,’ he warned. ‘I’ll only get one chance to escape. If that fails they’ll have me in handcuffs and leg irons.’

  ‘If they see me I’ll tell them I’m getting ready to go back to my place. Don’t worry Lobo, and please, when you make your break, try not to kill anyone. I know what getting away means to you, but we would start off on the wrong foot if you had to kill someone.’

  ‘Put that thought out of your mind,’ he told her. ‘I’ve told you before that I’m not a killer.’

  ‘That’s the only thing that worries me.’ She kissed him. ‘I’ll go now. See you later. Tomorrow at this time we should be a long way from here.’

  ‘I hope so,’ he replied. ‘If I’m not it means I’ve got to settle down to a fifteen-year stretch inside.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  AFTER THE DOCTOR’S daily visit Lobo settled down to some serious planning. He checked the small two-barrelled pistol that Stella had given him. He would not use it to kill, and thought his reputation as Lobo Johnson, backed by the pistol, would be sufficient to get the cell door unlocked when he wanted to leave. He decided that his escape would have to be made on this day. His time was running out.

  Stella came in at midday with a tray of food. She sat silent until Lobo had finished eating. He noticed that her face was downcast and her good spirits of the morning were gone.