Brothers in Blood

by Lee Lejeune

  ‘That sounds plumb crazy to me. If I didn’t know you better I’d think the sun had got under your hat and roasted your brain.’

  ‘Maybe it has and maybe it hasn’t. That’s what I aim to find out. Do you have a map of the homestead?’

  ‘Of course I do. I keep it somewhere in that old desk of mine. I call it a desk but it’s no more than a few sticks held together with rusty nails. My man Bart planned to get something grander but I’m afraid he left it too late.’

  She rummaged in the desk and brought out a map rolled up in a tube of cardboard. She unrolled it on to the table and held it down with coffee mugs.

  ‘Is this another of your mysteries, or did that old hoss of yourn tell you about it in your sleep?’ she asked him.

  ‘No. After he said what he said I put two and two together and came up with five.’ Sunshine leaned forward and studied the map. The farmstead was a lot bigger than he had supposed. ‘So you own all this land,’ he said, ‘right down to the creek?’

  ‘Yes, I do,’ she affirmed, ‘and that’s what keeps me on my feet most of the day and half the night.’

  He glanced at her and wondered how long she could keep going. She was tough and wiry but she wasn’t getting any younger. He ran his finger across the map and down to the creek.

  ‘What’s this area here hatched in black?’

  ‘That’s what I call “the Badlands”,’ she said.

  ‘Why “the Badlands?” ‘ he asked.

  ‘That’s because they’re no good to man or beast,’ she said. ‘You can’t graze cattle there and you can’t grow corn there. That land is fit for nothing, and it bubbles up from time to time. I heard the Indians call it “Bad Medicine Pipe” ’cause it puffs out foul stinking air from time to time.’

  ‘Is that so?’ Sunshine drummed on the table with his fingers.

  ‘What is that fanciful brain of yourn cooking up now?’ she asked him.

  ‘That’s Chingalong speaking again and he’s saying: “Sunshine, you have to go to that place and take a looksee”.’

  They went to the stable and saddled up. Bethany sat astride a bay mare; Sunshine was riding Chingalong as usual.

  ‘Listen up,’ he said to Chingalong as he threw the saddle over him and tightened the cinch. ‘Whether you know it or not, I mean to follow your advice, so you’d better be right.’

  Chingalong flexed back his ears but said nothing.

  ‘I do believe that hoss knows what you’re saying to him,’ Bethany said.

  ‘You can bet your last silver dollar on that,’ Sunshine replied.

  They rode down through the pasture and on towards the creek. There were steers in the pasture and as Sunshine and Bethany rode by they looked up in surprise before putting their heads down to graze again.

  ‘Don’t waste much time, do they?’ Sunshine observed.

  ‘They know what’s good for them,’ Bethany told him.

  ‘This is a good farm,’ Sunshine said, ‘but you have to get real. How long d’you think you can keep going here on your own?’

  Bethany clamped her teeth firmly on her pipe.

  ‘Just as a long as it takes or until I drop down and die,’ she said. ‘And I’m as real as I can be and I know I need to hire hands to help me out.’ She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. ‘You wouldn’t be interested, would you, Mr Shining?’

  Sunshine wrinkled his nose. ‘Well, I never thought of myself as a farmer. That’s why I rode West looking for adventure.’

  ‘Well, you’ve already had a good helping of that, whatever it is,’ she said.

  Now they came close to the creek. As they rode along Bethany pointed to the right.

  ‘You see that belt of trees over yonder. That’s where the Badlands begin.’

  They rode through the trees until they came to the trees that Bethany had indicated, where they reined in their horses.

  ‘Well, this is the place,’ she said. ‘No good for man or beast.’

  Sunshine looked out over the desolate land and a shudder went through his spine. What he saw was like a wilderness, where little would grow and no animal could graze. It was a relatively small area and certainly no good for farming, but here and there Sunshine saw pits from which steam rose and bubbles popped on the surface.

  ‘I think I know why Chingalong led me here in my dreams,’ he said.

  Chingalong’s ears twitched back but as usual he said nothing.

  ‘Well, what did that crazy hoss say to you?’ Bethany asked him.

  Sunshine shook his head. ‘He said tell that good lady you’ve struck oil or gas – or maybe both.’

  Bethany took her pipe out of her mouth and stared at him in amazement.

  ‘Are you sure about that?’

  ‘Somebody’s sure,’ he said. ‘That’s why those Cutaways want to get their hands on the property; it might be why your son Bart has been kidnapped, too.’

  ‘Well, I’ll be danged!’ she said. ‘How in the devil’s name can that be?’

  ‘Why, lookee here,’ she said a moment later. Sunshine saw two riders riding towards them, skirting round the Badlands. Even from where he sat Sunshine could recognize one as Jed Cutaway. The two riders appeared to be alone.

  ‘What do we do now?’ Bethany asked him.

  ‘What we do is we keep ourselves calm and wait,’ Sunshine advised.

  So they sat their horses and waited. Bethany Bartok wasn’t a patient woman but she stuck her pipe in her mouth and gritted her teeth.

  The two riders rode forward until they were within talking distance; then they reined in.

  ‘Good morrow, dear lady,’ Jed Cutaway said, raising his tall black hat. ‘Good morrow, Mr Shining.’ He indicated his companion. ‘I don’t think you’ve met my brother, Mr Shining.’

  ‘I’ve heard about him,’ Sunshine said politely. ‘Good morning, Mr Cutaway.’

  The second brother doffed his Stetson. ‘The name’s James. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Shining.’

  ‘My pleasure too, Mr Cutaway.’

  ‘I heard about your exploits in town yesterday,’ James Cutaway replied.

  ‘That was nothing,’ Sunshine said. ‘I was just sorry I had to shoot that man in the leg.’

  ‘Could have been the head.’ James Cutaway grinned.

  Jed Cutaway chuckled. ‘We were hoping to see you, Mrs Bartok. There’s something we wanted to talk to you about.’

  ‘A proposition,’ James Cutaway added. ‘It concerns your son Bart.’

  Sunshine glanced at Bethany and saw her wince.

  ‘What’s the proposition?’ she asked suspiciously.

  Both brothers were smiling and Sunshine was trying to work out how genuine their smiles were.

  ‘Why don’t you come up to the cabin and you can put your proposition to me?’ Bethany suggested. The two brothers exchanged smiles.

  ‘Why don’t we do that?’ Jed Cutaway said.

  Sunshine observed that the brothers took note of every detail as they rode towards the cluster of buildings that constituted what Bethany Bartok called the homestead.

  ‘How many head of cattle do you run here, Mrs Bartok?’ James Cutaway asked.

  ‘A few,’ she replied noncommittally.

  ‘It must be real hard managing the spread on your own,’ he suggested.

  ‘I manage,’ she replied, giving Sunshine a wary glance.

  ‘You know, one time our pa and his brother ran cattle on the whole of this range,’ James Cutaway said. ‘You looked out every which way right to the mountains and our cattle grazed as far as the eye could see.’

  ‘So I hear,’ Bethany said, ‘but the way I look at it, things change, Mr Cutaway. Things change and we have to change with them.’

  ‘That’s the truth, Mrs Bartok,’ Jed Cutaway said. ‘You have a wise head on your shoulders, dear lady.’

  Sunshine had been studying the two brothers and he’d noticed the differences between them. James was more hard-edged than his brother and Jed was more of a flat
terer and a diplomat. Sunshine wondered whether they were as brotherly as they pretended to be.

  When they reached Bethany’s cabin she dismounted.

  ‘Set yourselves down on the porch, gentlemen,’ she said. ‘Maybe Mr Shining will be good enough to feed and water the horses and I’ll bring you something to wash away the dust from your throats.’

  ‘Thank you kindly, ma’am,’ Jed Cutaway said.

  Sunshine took the horses to the drinking trough. When he came back Bethany was serving tankards of her home brew to the brothers.

  ‘This your own brew, Mrs Bartok?’ Jed Cutaway asked her.

  ‘This is my brew,’ she affirmed. ‘Usually it comes out good and strong.’

  ‘Tastes kind of cheesy,’ James Cutaway said. ‘But it’s wholesome and good.’

  They sat for a time drinking the beer.

  ‘What’s the proposition?’ Bethany asked abruptly. The brothers exchanged glances.

  ‘Well, now, Mrs Bartok,’ Jed said, ‘we’ve been thinking some on your son Bart and the fact that he’s being held captive.’

  ‘Kidnapped’s the word,’ James put in.

  ‘And we want to help you find him and punish those who are holding him.’

  Bethany’s lip trembled but she held her nerve.

  ‘That’s good news, Mr Cutaway, but tell me how you can do that?’

  There was a momentary pause, as though the brothers didn’t know which of them should continue. Then James spoke up again.

  ‘Well, Mrs Bartok, we hear most of what’s going on in this territory and we know who those two visiting gents are.’

  ‘That’s because they used to work for us,’ Jed put in. Bethany bit hard on her pipe.

  ‘So now they work for someone else?’ she said. ‘So why don’t you come to the point, gentlemen?’ The way she inflected the word gentlemen suggested she was highly suspicious.

  ‘We’re trying to be helpful here, Mrs Bartok,’ Jed said. ‘We think we can bring your boy back to you safe and sound. How would that be?’

  Bethany’s lip trembled again.

  ‘Why would you do that, Mr Cutaway?’

  ‘Out of kindness, ma’am,’ James Cutaway said. ‘We don’t like injustice. It’s against our principles.’

  Bethany looked at Sunshine; he raised an eyebrow.

  ‘If you don’t like injustice why did you send your boys to shoot out my windows?’ she asked. James Cutaway grinned.

  ‘Well, that wasn’t our intention and we regret it. But those boys are kind of high-spirited and they sometimes get things a little out of proportion.’

  ‘Well, maybe you’ll tell them the next time they come I’m gonna shoot the hell out of them with my buffalo gun,’ she said.

  This time both the brothers grinned at her but they said nothing. Bethany took her pipe out of her mouth.

  ‘So, what are you suggesting?’ she asked directly.

  Jed shook his head. ‘What we want is to get your boy safely home to you.’

  ‘And what do I do in return?’ she asked.

  ‘You sign over this farm to us legally for a fair price. That’s all we ask.’ James wasn’t grinning any more.

  ‘You mean you want for me to give up my home?’ she asked in a high squeak of indignation.

  ‘Not at all, Mrs Bartok,’ Jed said. ‘If we do this deal you can stay on this land for the rest of your days.’

  Bethany’s eyes popped with amazement.

  ‘You mean you’d own it but I could live here?’ she asked.

  ‘That would be the deal,’ Jed said, smiling now. ‘We would write that into the agreement so it’s all watertight and sealed.’

  ‘You get your boy back and live here in peace and quiet, and we get to own the homestead,’ James said.

  There was a moment’s silence. Bethany’s jaw was chomping away as she considered the implications. Sunshine drained off the last of his beer.

  ‘Why is this land so important to you, gentlemen?’ he asked with a beguiling smile. Jed smiled back.

  ‘That’s a hard question, Mr Shining. Let’s just say, we owned it way back and we sort of have an attachment to it.’

  ‘It wouldn’t be something to do with oil or gas, would it, Mr Cutaway?’ Sunshine asked innocently.

  Both Cutaways stared at him; they weren’t smiling or grinning any more. James Cutaway turned to Bethany Bartok.

  ‘D’you want your boy back, Mrs Bartok?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, I do,’ she said. For the first time Sunshine saw a weakening in her expression. Jed Cutaway nodded.

  ‘Then think it over, Mrs Bartok,’ he said. ‘Think it over before it’s too late.’

  CHAPTER SIX

  The two brothers thanked Bethany for the home brew and mounted up.

  ‘Take good care to remember,’ Jed Cutaway said. ‘We’ll come back tomorrow for your answer.’ Then they rode back towards town.

  Sunshine looked at Bethany and saw for the first time how deeply distressed she was. She placed her elbows on the table, lowered her head, and wept.

  Sunshine looked down at her and his heart seemed to turn over in his chest.

  ‘What am I gonna do?’ she cried, ‘and what’s gonna happen to my poor boy?’

  Sunshine laid a hand on her shoulder.

  ‘That’s a difficult question,’ he said. ‘But whatever the answer is, I’m here to help.’ He sat down and considered their options.

  ‘One thing’s for sure,’ he said. ‘Those two Cutaway hombres know more about your badlands than we think. My guess is they see gold down there, enough to keep them as rich as Croesus for the rest of their lives. That means one thing: it can make you rich as well!’

  She looked up at him through her tears.

  ‘D’you think they can get my boy back for me?’ she asked. ‘That’s all I want.’

  ‘That’s what I’m trying to figure out, Mrs Bartok.’ He looked away over the pasture. ‘Tell me this: which is more valuable to you, your boy or the prospect of riches beyond your dreams?’

  She thrust out her jaw and glared at him.

  ‘How can you ask that?’ she said. ‘My boy’s worth more to me than all the gold in California.’

  ‘Well then,’ he said, ‘that’s what we must work for. But if you play your cards right you might get them both.’

  It was time to do the chores around the farmstead. Bethany gritted her teeth.

  ‘If I don’t look after the spread it ain’t gonna look after itself, is it? And in any case, I think better while I’m working.’

  She loaded her stubby pipe and lit up. ‘Why don’t I show you round and you can help as we go along? You might even have some bright ideas as we go.’

  The first thing to do was to milk the cows. It was past time and they were all mooing impatiently.

  ‘You ever milked a cow?’ Bethany asked him.

  ‘I don’t believe I ever have,’ he replied.

  ‘Well, now’s your chance to learn.’

  They went out to the shed where the cows were all gathering, waiting to be milked, and Bethany gave him a lesson in milking.

  ‘You get in on the right-hand side,’ she instructed. ‘You take the stool in your left hand, put your head against the cow’s side, say a few kind words to her, put the bucket under the udder and then milk away, smooth but firm. Don’t let the cow kick over the bucket or get a hoof in it. If she does that it spoils the milk and we don’t want that nohow, do we?’

  Sunshine watched as she gave a demonstration and he saw how gentle she was with the cows. She even used their names when she spoke to them and they responded as though they understood.

  ‘These critters are not so dumb as you think,’ she said. ‘They understand a whole lot more than we think they do.’

  ‘Just like my horse Chingalong,’ he agreed, ‘only he’s even smarter.’

  It was now time for Sunshine to try his hand, but before he could take his place there came the sound of voices and the jingle of harness. He went to
the door and saw a gig stopping outside the door of the cabin. The driver got down and held out his hand to a lady. She was no more than twenty years old and she was dressed somewhat modestly but in fine-cut clothes.

  ‘Great heavens above!’ Bethany exclaimed from beside Sunshine. Then she rushed forward to embrace the lady. Sunshine put his pail aside and walked towards them.

  ‘My, oh my!’ Bethany said. She turned to Sunshine. ‘This is my daughter Elspeth. She’s come home.’

  Sunshine, smiling, stood facing the young woman. He saw at once that she favoured her mother but was somewhat more handsome; he might have used the word beautiful, in fact.

  ‘This is Mr Stubbs Shining,’ Bethany introduced. ‘He’s helping on the farm.’

  Elspeth stretched out her hand to Sunshine. Sunshine held it gently. It wasn’t the hand of a working woman, but the soft hand of a scholar or a lady.

  The driver of the gig unloaded a large case and carried it on his shoulder into the cabin.

  ‘So you’ve come back to stay?’ cried Bethany. Sunshine had never seen her so excited before.

  ‘Well, this is home, isn’t it?’ Elspeth said. Sunshine noticed that her voice was mellow and low. The young woman went to the porch and sat down at the table.

  ‘I can sure use a drink,’ she said. ‘It’s been a long ride on the railway and the stage shook my bones up something terrible.’

  Bethany rushed into the cabin and turned at the door.

  ‘D’you think you can finish the milking?’ she asked Sunshine.

  ‘I can try,’ Sunshine said. ‘If I get it wrong you might be a little short on milk today.’

  The young woman gave a musical laugh.

  The driver of the gig was standing around as though waiting for something. Elspeth got her purse out and paid him.

  ‘Why, thank you, missy,’ he said. ‘That’s mighty generous of you.’ He tucked the dollars away in his vest pocket and turned to Sunshine.

  ‘I believe you’re Mr Stubbs Shining,’ he said. ‘I heard how you upended that bully in the trough the other day and then shot him in the leg.’