“Mr. Gleason,” Rosalie said, smiling broadly and extending her hand. “I’m very glad to meet you. And I thank you for saving my daddy’s life.”
“I’m pleased to meet you too, Miss Ireland.”
She turned to Duff. “And you are Mr. MacCallister?”
“Aye, lass. Duff MacCallister. ’Tis most pleased I am to make your acquaintance.”
“Oh, I love the way you talk,” Rosalie said.
“He does talk funny, don’t he?” Elmer said. “Of course, I’m so used to it, that I don’t hardly take no notice a-tall anymore.”
“Oh, I don’t think it is funny at all. I think it is quite sophisticated.”
“Rosalie, what do you want? What’s so important that you have to come to my office when I’m in conference?”
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean to interrupt. But there is a dress for sale in The Elite Shop that I simply must have for the ball Saturday night, and I’m two dollars short.”
“You must have it, huh?”
“Yes, Daddy, but it’s not for me, you understand. It’s for you.”
Governor Ireland chuckled. “Darlin’, you are going to explain how you buying a dress for the ball Saturday night is for me, aren’t you?
“Of course I am. You know me, Daddy. Why, I would be satisfied wearing just any old rag of a dress. But how would that look for you? I mean, you wouldn’t want the governor’s daughter to go the ball in a dress that wasn’t suited to your position, would you?”
Governor laughed again, and shook his head as he took out his billfold. “No, I certainly wouldn’t want my daughter to be caught going to the ball wearing a dress that wasn’t appropriate for the occasion.” He gave her a twenty-dollar bill. “Find something real pretty.”
“Oh, I will, Daddy, I will! And thank you! Thank you so much!” She took the money, then looked back at Duff and Elmer. “It was so nice meeting you gentlemen.”
“Be on your way, darlin’. As you can see, I am busy.”
“Yes, Daddy,” Rosalie said, then tossing a smile at the visiting men, she stepped back out of the office.
“Your daughter is as nice as she is pretty,” Duff said.
“She has me wrapped around her little finger, and she knows it,” Governor Ireland said.
Duff turned the conversation back to the more serious situation. “Governor, I think you should be for knowing that on the way here this morning, we were set upon by two men, both of whom were wearing the blue kerchiefs of the Fence Busters.”
“Set upon? What do you mean, set upon?”
“He means that two no-’count, lowdown fellers ambushed us on the road ’n tried to kill us,” Elmer said.
“Good heavens, you mean they shot at you?”
“They sure as hell did.” Elmer laughed. “They shot at us, ’n that was their big mistake. Their last mistake, as it turned out, “’cause we kilt both of ’em.”
“Where are these men now?” the governor asked.
“Unless someone has picked them up and brought them into town, they are still lying out there,” Duff said. “I tell you this because I don’t want someone to find them and have it be a mystery as to who they are and why they are there.”
“All right,” the governor said. “Come with me. We’ll go see Captain Brooks of the Texas Rangers. He’ll send some men out to pick them up.”
The governor led Duff and Elmer down one of the long corridors of the capitol building until they reached a door that designated the room behind it as the office of the Texas Rangers.
A young man sitting at a desk stood quickly when the governor stepped inside. “Governor Ireland, sir.”
“Is Captain Brooks in?” the governor asked.
“Yes, sir. I’ll tell him you’re here.”
* * *
“You say these two men jumped you on the road as you were coming to see the governor?” Captain Brooks asked after Duff and Elmer shared their story with him.
“That’s what they done, all right,” Elmer replied.
“What was their purpose? Were they trying to rob you?”
“I believe that, somehow, they came by the intelligence that we were going to see the governor to put in a request, and they intended to stop us,” Duff said.
“You see,” Elmer put in, “both of ’em was wearin’ blue kerchiefs.”
“Fence Busters,” Captain Brook replied.
Duff nodded. “Aye, Fence Busters they were.”
Captain Brooks shook his head. “The Fence Busters are beginning to be quite a problem. They have a small army, and they operate at will. I hate to say this, Governor, but there’s no doubt in my mind but that they may have a sheriff or two helping them out.”
“You may be correct, Captain, but I’m about to introduce a law that may help us with the situation. At least, it will give us more tools to use in dealing with the situation.”
“I hope your bill works, Governor.”
“I do too, Captain. I do too.”
Chapter Seventeen
Slash Bell Ranch
By the time Duff and Elmer rode back to the ranch two days later, the bill had already been introduced and signed. Duff was carrying a copy of the Austin Gazette. He had brought the newspaper with him so he could share one particular article.
Governor Ireland Signs
Executive Order
A new act, signed into law by executive order of the governor, will henceforth prohibit anyone from cutting fences behind which cattle are being protected.
Such a law is already in existence for fences around private property, but this law will cover fences that surround public land, as well. No doubt there will be some objection to this as the public land belongs, in fact, to all the people of Texas, and not just to the rancher who has erected the fence. Despite the objection, it is believed that the law enjoys enough support from the ranchers to enable it to stand.
“Congratulations. This bill will certainly make all the cattlemen happy. And,” Bellefontaine added with a wide smile, “make the other members of the Hill Country Cattlemen’s Association eat their words when they doubted that Mr. Gleason would have access to the governor.”
“Did Mr. Wang behave himself while we were gone?” Duff asked.
“I’ll say. Why didn’t you tell me he could cook? I don’t think I’ve ever eaten as delicious a meal as the one he prepared.” Bellefontaine chuckled. “I even tried to hire him away from you, but, apparently, he is well satisfied in his current position.”
“Loyalty is a matter of honor with Wang, and I believe he would die before bringing dishonor to himself.”
* * *
“Tell Kendrick there is a way of getting the governor to get the legislature to cancel the law that was just passed with regard to the fence-cutting bill.”
“How?”
“I’ve written it all out for Kendrick, including the schedules.”
“What schedules?”
“It will be clear to him when he reads the letter I have written.”
“You know, when you first started givin’ us information, I didn’t think we could really trust you. But Kendrick said he had dealt with people like you before, and he said that we could. He said that people like you were driven more by avarice than by altruism. I’m not sure what them words mean, but he said that was why we could trust you.”
“Ha! Yes, Kendrick is quite accurate in his appraisal. I suppose you could say that I am driven more by avarice than by altruism, though I would prefer to say that I am motivated by practicality and self-preservation. Now, please get this letter to him right away. If it is to be of any benefit to him, he must get it right away.”
Fence Busters’ cabin on the Blanco River
The cabin sat back from the creek, tucked up under the overhang of Bat Cave Mountain. The overhang had been created by the guano explosion that had occurred some forty years earlier. The back wall was protected, not only from the weather but from any attack launched from that direction.
Disappointed to learn that Kendrick wasn’t in Blowout, where it would have been much easier to give him the letter, the messenger rode out to the cabin. He wasn’t actually a member of the Fence Busters, but because he had a working relationship with Kendrick, he knew where the cabin was, and how to approach it. He was always uneasy about going to the cabin, though, because he would be in sight of the guards who were posted. Since he was just a messenger, and not one of them, he always feared that one of them might get nervous someday and shoot at him. But the pay was worth it . . . so he took a deep breath and rode on ahead.
He stopped at the dome, which was how Kendrick referred to a large rounded rock, where the creek made a hard turn to the left. From there, the cabin couldn’t be seen. From the other side of the dome, just after the curve in the creek, the cabin could be seen, but if anyone got that far before giving the secret signal, they would be shot.
The messenger took off his hat, hooked it onto the stock of his rifle, and, holding the rifle by the end of the barrel, held it and the hat as high as he could. He stayed riveted in that position until his arm began to hurt, but he knew better than to lower it before he was told he could do so.
“Higgins?” an unseen voice called from the other side of the rock.
“Yeah.”
“Come ahead.”
“Can I lower my arm?”
“Yeah. Put your rifle back in the sheath.” Higgins did as he was instructed, then, rounding the rock, recognized Martell. “Is Mr. Kendrick here?”
“Yeah. You got somethin’ for ’im?”
“I do.” Higgins followed Martell on up to the cabin, then dismounted and went inside.
Kendrick was drinking a cup of coffee. “Grab a cup,” he invited, reaching for the letter Higgins had brought.
The governor’s daughter, Rosalie, takes frequent rides, unaccompanied. This Friday she will be going to Manor to visit her grandmother. She normally leaves at about one o’clock in the afternoon for the one-hour ride. She stays about two hours, then leaves at four p. m. to return.
While Kendrick read, Martell and several others sat at a table a short distance away.
“Jaco and Dawkins are dead,” Martell said. “I thought Jaco was so all-fired set on killin’ MacCallister. How come, you reckon, he couldn’t get the job done?”
“Who is this MacCallister anyway?” Logan asked. “What the hell is he doin’ gettin’ in our way like he’s a-doin?”
“You remember that outfit folks called the Kingdom Come Gang?” Rand asked.
Logan nodded. “Yeah, I remember ’em.”
“Well, it was MacCallister and that feller that’s with him, Elmer Gleason, what brought that gang down.”
“I’ll be damned. They was runnin’ high, too. I remember them. And you say that it was MacCallister and this Gleason person that brought ’em down?” Martell asked.
Rand leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, it was them, all right. And the thing is, Jaco’s brother was in that Kingdom Come Gang. And MacCallister bringin’ ’em down like he done is the reason why Jaco wanted to be the one to kill him. It was real personal with him. Only it didn’t work out, ’n he wound up gettin’ hisself kilt instead.”
“Yeah, and not only that, the governor’s gone and got a law passed agin’ cuttin’ fences on public land.”
“We’ll get around that,” Kendrick said, looking up from the letter.
“How?” Rand asked. “How we goin’ to get around that?”
“I’ll give it some thought. I’m sure I can come up with a way.”
“Supper’s ready,” Finn said. While in the cabin on the Blanco River, the men rotated cooking duties.
The men picked up a plate from the stack of ten plates on the sideboard, then stepped up to the stove to be served.
“What do you mean, supper? This ain’t nothin’ but beans,” Felker growled as they were spooned onto his plate. “Is that all we ever have around here?”
“Beans is all I got to work with,” Finn said. “They’s some pork with ’em.”
“Pork? No beef? This is a hell of a note, ain’t it?” Felker complained as he walked over to sit at the rough-hewn table with half a dozen other men. “I mean we’ve rustled enough beef to start a full-sized stampede, but we ain’t got so much as a mouthful to lay alongside our beans.”
“Quit your complaining, Felker,” Kendrick said as he held his own plate out. “If you want beef for every meal, you can always go back to doing whatever it is that you . . . cowboys . . . do for low wages and food. We’re cutting fences and rustling cattle because it pays more, not because it’s an easy life.”
“Perhaps you ain’t noticed it, Kendrick, but we ain’t exactly been rustlin’ a hell of a lot of cows lately, neither,” Felker said. “In fact, it’s been quite a while since we’ve so much as took one steer and got away with it.”
“Felker’s right,” one of the other men said. “You said it’d be a piece of cake to go out to Bellefontaine’s place and take his herd. Well, we went out there. And we lost four men. They was good men, too, ever’ one of ’em. All that and for what? We didn’t get so much as one cow.”
“Tell me, Conroy, since when were you such good friends with Smitty, Hensen, Miller, ’n Perkins?” Kendrick asked. “Besides, who knew that MacCallister, Gleason, and the Chinaman would stay ’n fight with Bellefontaine?”
“And now the governor’s got a law passed sayin’ we can’t cut fences,” Conroy said. “How the hell did them cowmen get him talked into doin’ that, anyway?”
“It turns out that Gleason is an old friend of the governor,” Kendrick said.
Conroy frowned. “He is? How can somebody like that be friends with the governor?”
“Apparently, Gleason saved the governor’s life during the war,” Kendrick said.
“Now, how the hell would you know somethin’ like that?” Woodson asked, surprised by Kendrick’s comment.
“I’m an attorney, and by definition, attorneys must learn everything they can about any project they undertake.” Kendrick held up the letter. “I’ve come up with a way of dealing with the situation and I intend to get that law repealed.”
“Oh yeah? Just how are you goin’ to do that?” Woodson asked.
“You’ll see this afternoon,” Kendrick replied. “I’ll take you with me.”
The Capitol Building, Austin
“Hello, Mr. Fitzhugh,” Rosalie said to the governor’s secretary. “Is Daddy in his office?”
“He is indeed, Miss Ireland.”
“Is he alone? I don’t want to disturb him if he is in a meeting.”
“He’s quite alone, and I’m sure he’ll be happy to receive you. You’re wearing your riding clothes, I see. Riding up to see your grandmother again?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Every Wednesday afternoon, as regular as clockwork,” Fitzhugh said. “I’m sure your grandmother looks forward to it. If you missed a week, I believe she would be very upset.”
“I would as well. I so enjoy my Wednesday rides.” With a smile and a wave, Rosalie pushed open the door to her father’s office and stepped inside. “Daddy?” she called.
“Yes, dear, come on in,” Governor Ireland called out. “All ready for your ride, I see.”
“Yes, I am. Any message for Grandma?”
“No, just give her my regards. And be careful on your ride.”
“Now why would you say that? Daddy, you know that I’m a very good rider.”
“I know,” the governor said. “But just be careful, is all I’m asking.”
Chapter Eighteen
Outside Austin
On Friday afternoon, armed with the information that had been in the letter, Kendrick, Conroy, Felker, Woodson, and Martell were waiting on the Manor Pike, about five
miles northeast of the capital.
“Kendrick, there’s a rider comin’,” Conroy said.
“All right. Everyone get in position. Martell, when she passes by, you and Woodson come out behind her. Conroy, you and Felker come out in front of her. That way, she’ll have no way to get away from us. But remember, don’t hurt her. She’ll only be useful to us if she is alive and unhurt.”
* * *
Rosalie was enjoying her ride. A few moments ago, she had seen a mama fox and three kits, and she knew her grandmother would enjoy hearing about them. From a nearby thicket of trees, she heard the staccato tap of a woodpecker, and on the side of the road, colorful butterflies were flitting about. It was such a beautiful day for a ride. Then, suddenly, her ride was rudely interrupted by an unexpected sound.
“Now!” she heard someone shout.
Her curiosity as to the meaning of the sound was quickly answered when two mounted men suddenly appeared in front of her.
Startled, Rosalie turned her horse around quickly. She didn’t know who they were or what they wanted, but she was a good rider and well mounted, and had no doubt that she could get away from them.
As soon as she turned her horse around, though, she saw two more men blocking her path. One of the men rode up to her and grabbed the halter of her horse, while the other jerked the reins from her hand.
“Who are you? What do you want? Do you have any idea who my father is?”
“Yes indeed, Miss Rosalie Ireland. We know exactly who your father is,” a fifth man said, riding up to her. He had dark, obsidian eyes and a purple scar on his left cheek that he rubbed with the tip of his finger. “You are the governor’s daughter and are on your way to see your grandmother, but I’m afraid your grandmother is going to be disappointed today.”
His speech wasn’t with the soft drawl of Texas or anywhere else in the South or West. His rather cultured accent totally belied his appearance. “Tie her up, men, but don’t hurt her,” he ordered.
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