The Floating Outfit 35

by J. T. Edson

‘How do you stand on it, Ed?’ the blonde inquired, having scanned his face worriedly all through the story.

  ‘You-all gave me half a million good reasons for not trusting Simmy, Emma gal,’ Dusty drawled and saw relief replace the anxiety on her face. ‘But, knowing who she was and why she’d come, why in hell did you pick that fight with Belle?’

  ‘I didn’t know for sure, until it was too late,’ Emma insisted. ‘By the time I did, there were folks listening. What would they have thought, knowing me, if I’d done nothing after coming on some stray tail-peddler pawing at my man? And, what’s more important, Simmy would have got suspicious if he’d heard I let her get away with it, even knowing she was Belle Starr. He’s smart enough to starting guessing I’d got a reason for keeping friendly with her.’

  ‘You could’ve let Belle know—’ Dusty began.

  ‘She did,’ the lady outlaw commented dryly. ‘Just as soon as I got her held down and primed for plucking, she squealed out that she’d got the other half of the bill. Then, when I held back from whomping her even uglier than she is, she cut a rusty and bucked me off.’

  ‘You could’ve broke it off easy enough,’ Dusty pointed out, recollecting the incident. ‘All one of you had to do was make out she was licked.’

  ‘Which one?’ Emma countered. ‘I didn’t aim to and she sure as hell wouldn’t.’

  ‘She’s right, Ed,’ Belle went on. ‘After it’d got that far, we had to know who’s boss.’

  ‘It was your fault!’ the blonde hissed, glaring at Belle. ‘You didn’t have to come to my place. I’d’ve come and seen you later.’

  ‘Not that it would have stopped me coming, but I still didn’t know how you tied in with me,’ the lady outlaw answered. ‘How would it have looked to whoever had sent for me if I’d shown as such a fraidy-cat that I let a fat, blowsy calico queen back me down?’

  ‘Just because you got lucky—!’ the blonde spat, clenching her hands.

  ‘Are you pair going to quit mean-mouthing each other and get down to horse-trading?’ Dusty growled, sounding his most savage. ‘Because, happen you start hair-yanking again, I’m going to chill both of your milk pronto, and I won’t do it gentle. I’m not missing my chance of a cut in a half-million dollar pot because two blasted she-males don’t like each other.’

  ‘Don’t get riled, Ed!’ Belle yelped, in well-simulated anxiety, knowing that his outburst was directed mainly at the blonde. ‘I’m sorry for what I said, Emma. If you’ll say the same, we’ll forget our quarrels.’

  ‘You’re no tail-peddler,’ Emma apologized and sat down on the end of the bed. ‘It’s over as far as I’m concerned.’

  ‘Let’s hope you both mean it,’ Dusty said, swinging his left leg over the back of the chair and settling astride its seat.

  ‘Now I like you pair fine, and it’s sure pleasing to a man’s ego to have you fighting over him. But there’s a time and a place for it. You can snatch each other bald-headed, or bite off your apples so you’re both flat-chested once this chore’s over. Until then, you’ll stay peaceable.’

  ‘We’ll mind it, Ed,’ Belle promised, seeing that the blonde was taking the warning very much to heart. ‘Now I’d like to hear what kind of game I’m getting dealt into.’

  ‘Simmy keeps all his money, packed in flour sacks in case he has to load up and get out in a hurry, in a cellar under his office,’ the blonde explained. ‘It’s got a secret, trick door that only two people know how to open.’

  ‘You’re one of them?’

  ‘No, Belle.’

  ‘Forcing Simmy to open up won’t be easy,’ Dusty warned, thinking furiously of how he could turn the unexpected situation to his advantage. ‘He’s one tough hombre no matter how he acts and talks.’

  ‘We won’t have to force him,’ Emma corrected. ‘Giselle’s going to open up for us.’

  ‘His wife?’ Belle ejaculated.

  ‘And my half-sister,’ the blonde elaborated. ‘She doesn’t like the way he uses her and she’s sick to the guts of being buried alive in this God-forsaken hell-hole. Only she’s like me, she hates going hungry. That’s why we’ve figured this deal out.’

  ‘Why send for me?’ Belle wanted to know. ‘There’re dozens of men in and out here all the time who could have helped you.’

  ‘Do you know why I don’t have a picture on my sign board?’ Emma countered. ‘Because you can’t get a painting of something that doesn’t exist.’

  ‘Gracias,’ Dusty drawled.

  ‘Somehow, the Lord knows how, I get the feeling I can trust you, Ed. But you hadn’t come when I sent for Belle. I needed somebody with brains enough to help me set things up, and with enough knowledge to get us away after we’d pulled the robbery. I’d always heard you’re a square-shooter, Belle, so I got in touch with you.’

  ‘Then why make the big play for me?’ Dusty asked.

  ‘We decided we could use a few real good guns to back us up if things went wrong,’ Emma admitted frankly. ‘Giselle was set on bringing in Ben Columbo and his riff-raff. I was sure relieved when you boys made wolf-bait of them all, Ed. And, after I’d watched you for a spell, I believed we could count on you, Matt and Comanche.’

  ‘I get a notion this’s not going to work out as easy as it looks from the top,’ Belle remarked. ‘Way I see it, we’ll need a wagon to tote away all that much money—’

  ‘The saloon could use some supplies,’ Emma told her. ‘And Ed owns the livery barn. Its last owner left it to him in his’ will.’

  ‘It was Simmy’s idea I should have the place,’ Dusty explained. ‘For helping him gun down its old owner and his sidekicks.’

  ‘And, if I know Simmy,’ Emma went on. ‘He’s already figuring out ways to get you boys killed and take it back. That’s the Wagon, and a reason for wanting it, fixed up, Belle.’

  ‘There’s a right good way we could pull it off tomorrow, happen you girls’re up to it,’ Dusty drawled.

  ‘Tom—!’ Emma gasped, darting an inquiring glance at the lady outlaw.

  ‘I’m up to it, if you are, Emma,’ Belle declared and the blonde nodded.

  ‘How many of your crowd can you trust, Emma?’ Dusty inquired. ‘I mean trust all the way. With your life, because that’s what’s at stake if you’re wrong about any one of them.’

  ‘Hubert’s the only man of ’em. Simmy hired all the others. Then there’s Red, Juanita and four more of the girls. But—’

  ‘That’ll be enough, way I plan it,’ Dusty insisted and went on with a comment in keeping with the character he was playing in Hell. ‘We don’t want to have to cut the pot too many ways, now do we?’

  ‘If we use them,’ Emma announced grimly. ‘They’re in for their share.’

  ‘Why not? It’s big enough,’ Dusty smiled, sensing that the blonde was sincere and liking her for it.

  ‘What’s this idea of yours, Ed?’ Belle inquired.

  Instead of answering, the small Texan cocked his head in the direction of the window. The sounds of revelry still rolled unabated from the Honest Man Saloon.

  ‘You sure packed them in tonight, Emma gal,’ Dusty finally said.

  ‘Just about everybody in town. I’ve never drawn such a crowd,’ the blonde answered and threw a grin at the lady outlaw. ‘If we wasn’t figuring to be gone by night, I’d near on suggest that you and I lock horns again tomorrow, Belle.’

  ‘Now it’s funny you-all coming out and saying that,’ Dusty put in and something about the way in which he spoke drew the girls’ eyes to his face. ‘I was just going to say you should do it.’

  Silence followed the small Texan’s words, lasting for several seconds as Belle and Emma digested the implication behind the soft-spoken, but significant words. Involuntarily, two sets of female fingers fluttered to bruised faces. Then the girls looked at each other and Dusty could see the speculation in both sets of features.

  ‘You mean you want us to put on another cat-fight to get everybody in my place watching us,’ Emma guessed. ‘Then your boy
s, Hubert and my girls go with Giselle, load up the wagon with Simmy’s money and pull out?’

  ‘Something like that,’ Dusty agreed.

  ‘And what happens to us when he finds out the money’s gone?’ the blonde demanded. ‘He’ll figure who must have taken it and how.’

  ‘I’ve got a way around that,’ Dusty assured her. ‘Time he knows about it, we’ll have a good head start on him. Only the fight’s not going to take place at the saloon. You’re going to have it out at that hollow on the other side of town from Simmy’s place.’

  ‘I think I noticed it on the way in,’ Belle remarked, nodding in satisfaction. ‘Anybody out there won’t be able to see Simmy’s house for the other buildings in between. You’ve hit it, Ed.’

  Emma did not join in the lady outlaw’s paean of congratulation. Having been longer than Belle in Hell, the blonde knew that the hollow in question was the area set aside beyond the town limits, so that visitors could settle disagreements without endangering lives or civic property using guns.

  Chapter Sixteen – I’ll Bring ’Em Back Tamed

  Leaving his saddled grulla standing ground hitched by its dangling reins, Dusty Fog looked around. With the time wanting ten minutes before four in the afternoon, almost everybody in, the town had already gathered at the hollow. They were all eagerly awaiting a continuation of the events which had so excited them in the Honest Man Saloon the night before. A glance towards Hell told Dusty that he had been correct about the invisibility of the mayor’s house from the hollow. If careful planning and attention to detail could command success, the small Texan hoped that his work in the town called Hell would soon be at an end.

  At first, on learning where he wished the clash to take place, Emma had vehemently refused to take part in it. Even Belle had been startled on being told of the purpose to which the hollow was usually put. Patiently, Dusty had elaborated on his plan and the girls had admitted that it could work. So they had discussed it at length, amending and improving, until all had felt sure that it stood a better than average chance of succeeding. Despite facing the prospect of another confrontation, the girls had parted on friendly terms. So much so that Emma had not raised a single objection to ‘Ed’ remaining in Belle’s room for the rest of the night.

  ‘I don’t want to be a hog, Belle,’ the blonde had claimed cheerfully. ‘And if you feel like love-making tonight, I’ll near on be willing to admit you’re a tougher gal than me.’

  Not that Emma had needed to worry about such an eventuality; although the reason for Belle abstaining from ‘love-making’ had nothing to do with her current physical condition. As the lady outlaw had told Dusty earlier, only one man had shared her bed—and Mark Counter was the small Texan’s amigo. So Dusty had slept on the floor, which had been his intention all along.

  Rising somewhat earlier in the morning than had become his habit since arriving in Hell, Dusty had left Belle and gone to find his companions. On wakening the Kid and Juanita, he discovered that Emma had wasted no time the previous night.

  On her return to the saloon, slipping in by a rear entrance as unnoticed as she had left, Emma had waited until the place was closing and sent her maid to collect the Kid, Waco and the trusted members of her staff. After satisfying herself that they were all sober enough to understand what she was saying, she had told them of ‘Ed Caxton’s’ plan. Sharing Giselle’s antipathy towards the town, Hubert and the girls had stated their eagerness to leave; especially as they would do so with a sizeable stake for their futures. Before they had gone to their respective beds, they had all known the parts they would play in the robbery. Always something of a madcap, Red had been particularly pleased with the role she was selected to play.

  Leaving his amigos to dress, Dusty had visited the livery barn and given orders for a wagon to be prepared. To lull any suspicions the bleary-eyed hostlers might have felt, Dusty had explained that the previous night’s celebrations had depleted the saloon’s stocks to such an extent that there was some urgency in obtaining a fresh supply of liquor.

  That had paved the way for the next stage of the operation. Returning to the hotel, Dusty had escorted Belle to lunch in the crowded dining room. Before the meal had ended, Emma stormed in. Give the girls their due, they had put on quite a performance. Screaming insults at each other, they had seemed on the verge of coming to blows. When Dusty had intervened, Belle had warned Emma that she intended to settle the matter permanently. Instantly the blonde had flung out a challenge to meet Belle at the hollow. Amidst a low mutter of excited comment from the eavesdropping occupants of the room, the lady outlaw had taken up the challenge. Mockingly saying that Emma would need time to settle her affairs, Belle had suggested they met at four o’clock. Agreeing, Emma had stalked away.

  So, at ten minutes to four, the scene was set, the audience assembled and waiting for the arrival of the principal performers in the drama. Soon after lunch, the Kid had brought word that Emma had contacted Giselle and the little brunette was ready to play her part. On visiting the barn, Dusty had found the wagon provisioned for the journey, its team hitched up, but the whole staff already on their way to the hollow so as to make sure of a good view of the proceedings. When Dusty had left in the wake of the crowd, Hell had had the appearance of a ghost town.

  Elbowing his way arrogantly through the crowd, Dusty found Lampart in the forefront. The small Texan now had a part to play, one which would make a tremendous difference to the success of the plan. Glancing around and seeing a couple of the Honest Man’s gamblers taking bets amongst the crowd, he believed he knew how to handle things.

  ‘Hey, Simmy,’ Dusty greeted. ‘Where’s Giselle?’

  ‘She’s decided not to come,’ the mayor replied. ‘Had too much to drink last night and’s feeling the effects.’

  ‘Sounded like you sure had a time,’ Dusty grinned.

  ‘Yes,’ said Lampart coldly. ‘And all free.’

  ‘Why worry? You’ll get it back and more, way they’ll be drinking and talking after this. It’s a pity we can’t get some betting on it.’

  ‘Can’t we?’ Lampart asked.

  ‘Hell. Who’s going to bet against Belle in a shoot-out?’

  ‘You’re sure she’ll win?’

  ‘I’d say it’s a foregone conclusion.’

  ‘I wouldn’t,’ Lampart answered. ‘Emma’s a damned good shot.’

  ‘You tricky ole son,’ Dusty drawled admiringly. ‘Hell, though, you’ve made one lil mistake. Emma might be able to shoot, but I’m betting she can’t lick Belle to the draw.’

  ‘Damn it!’ the mayor ejaculated. ‘You’re right. If—There’s a way out.’

  ‘There’d best be,’ Dusty drawled. ‘’Cause Belle’s coming now.’

  Carrying her coat and hat, Belle walked through the crowd. She was dressed in a shirt, Levi’s pants and moccasins, with her gunbelt strapped on. Behind her, ground hitched by Dusty’s grulla, stood her powerful bay gelding. Hooves drummed and Emma, clothed in the same way as Belle but with a Navy Colt thrust into her waistband, rode up. Dismounting, she dropped her reins and followed the lady outlaw through the gap which had opened in the crowd.

  ‘Hi Ed, honey,’ Belle greeted, then jerked her head in the blonde’s direction. ‘Your fat slack-puller’s not backed out.’

  ‘I sure hope you got all you wanted last night, tail-peddler!’ Emma replied. ‘Because it was your last night in this world.’

  ‘Yeah?’ Belle hissed, crouching slightly and hooking her right hand over the Manhattan. ‘Well—’

  ‘Ladies!’ Lampart barked and the girls looked at him. ‘I thought this was supposed to be a fair fight?’

  Concealing his grin of elation, Dusty watched the mayor do just what the plan called for. When Belle insisted that she would not have it any other way than fair, Lampart pointed out her advantage in a draw-and-shoot affair. Then he suggested that they fought as in a formal duel.

  ‘You’ll stand back to back, each holding her gun,’ Lampart enlarged. ‘Then
I’ll give the word. You each step off six strides, turn and start shooting.’

  ‘That’s all right with me!’ Belle declared.

  ‘Anyway’ll do me just so I can get a bead on her,’ Emma went on.

  Going into the centre of the hollow, the girls stood back to back. Looking around, Dusty was satisfied that none of the crowd had eyes for anything other than Emma and Bella. Across at the other side of the circle, Waco stood between Red and a Chinese girl from the brothel. The size of the crowd caused the girl to press against his side. That too was what Dusty wanted to happen.

  ‘If you’re ready, ladies,’ Lampart said, from the rim of the hollow and on receiving answers in the affirmative, continued, ‘Start when I reach three. One! Two—’

  Having made a circle of the town to make sure that all was clear, the Ysabel Kid returned to the livery barn. Hubert sat on the box of the wagon and, at the Kid’s nod, started the team moving. By the time they had reached Lampart’s house, Juanita and the other girls were already inside.

  ‘Move it, all of you!’ the Kid ordered, looking in at the rear door.

  ‘We already have,’ Giselle answered, indicating the pile of bulging flour sacks on the floor. ‘Get them loaded while I pick the locks on the deposit boxes. There’s no sense in leaving their contents behind.’

  ‘Nope,’ grinned the Kid, thinking of how the losses would affect the town and its citizens. ‘There sure ain’t.’

  ‘What about the guards at the shack there, Comanche?’ Hubert inquired, darting a worried glance at the adobe building and remembering the men who usually stood watch over it.

  ‘They’ve gone to see the fight like everybody else,’ drawled the Kid. ‘Go help the gals. I’ll make sure nobody comes around asking what we’re at.’

  Sweating girls, unused to strenuous activity, darted to and fro, fetching and dumping sacks of money into the wagon. While they did so, Giselle put to use her ability as a lock-picker to unfasten the boxes in which various gang leaders had left their loot for safekeeping. Working swiftly, the girls emptied each box in turn and the brunette locked it up again. All the time, the Kid’s party were conscious of a continuous rumble of noise reminiscent of the crowd’s reaction to the previous night’s fight at the saloon.