by J. Roberts
“Not yet anyway,” Clint said. “You’ll want to give Pearl a chance to plead her case to me.”
“She’s young,” Dave said, “but she’s quite a girl.”
“Somebody told me about a man named Hunter.”
“Yeah,” Dave said, “other than me, he’s the only one who isn’t an idiot.”
“Why does she use them then?”
“It’s odd,” Dave said. “Separately they’re useless. Together—me included—we get the job done.”
“I knew a family like that once,” Clint said. “The Sutphens. Individually they were inept. When they worked together, they were almost unbeatable.”
“Until you beat ’em?” Dave asked.
Clint didn’t answer.
“So are we riding in?” Clint asked the other man.
“Can you control her?” Dave asked, pointing at Alice. “I know how eager new deputies can be.”
“She won’t do anything unless I say so,” Clint said.
“Are you sure?” Dave asked. He looked at Alice, who was frowning.
“I’m sure.”
“Okay then,” Dave said, “let’s ride in.”
When Tate had finished his story, Pearl said, “Randy, you’re on watch.”
“You want me to cut them down when they’re within range?”
“No,” Pearl said, “just come back and tell me they’re here.”
“Then we’ll cut them down together?”
Pearl looked at Hunter.
“When did he get so bloodthirsty?” She didn’t wait for an answer. She looked at Randy and said, “Nobody’s get-tin’ cut down. Just watch, and report.”
“You heard her,” Hunter said.
“Yeah, I heard her.”
As Randy walked away, Pearl said to Del and Tate, “Finish stowin’ the supplies.”
“Sure, Pearl.”
As the two men left the tent, Hunter said, “So what are we gonna do?”
“Let’s hear what Clint has to say for himself,” Pearl said. “No shootin’, Hunter. Understand?”
“Sure,” Hunter said, “I understand.”
THIRTY-THREE
When they crested the ridge, Clint could see the camp by the banks of the river. One house, with a tent on either side. There were five armed people standing there, waiting.
“That all of them?” Clint asked.
“That’s it,” he said. “And Daddy makes six.” He thumped his own chest.
“Are you her father?” Alice asked.
Dave looked at her and said, “No, I was just sayin’ . . .” Randy had come running back, yelling that they were coming.
“Okay, already,” Hunter said, “shut up.”
“Get the others, Randy,” Pearl said. “We’ll all stand together.”
“Right.”
When they had all gathered in front of the house, she said, “No shooting unless I shoot first, understand?”
They all indicated that they did, but the four men were thinking the same thing.
This was a mistake.
As Clint, Alice, and Dave got closer, Clint got his first real look at Pearl Starr in years.
My God, he thought, she’s beautiful.
“She’s beautiful!” Alice said.
“Yeah, she is,” Dave said.
Clint could see that the others were going to be keying off Pearl Starr—all except the man to her immediate right. This one had to be Hunter. He was a big man, and he was watching Clint closely, while the others kept looking from Clint to Pearl and back again.
“Watch Hunter,” Dave said to Clint. “He might try to prove somethin’.”
“Yeah, thanks. Alice, you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, but her voice sounded tight.
“Keep your hand off your gun,” he warned her.
“I know.”
When they reached the five people, Clint reined in, followed by Alice and Dave. Clint and Alice remained mounted, but Dave dismounted and moved to stand with the others.
“Hello, Pearl,” Clint said.
“Mr. Adams.”
“Do you remember me?”
“Of course I do.”
“When you were little, you called me Clint,” he reminded her.
“That was a long time ago.”
“Yes, it was.”
“Your boys look nervous,” Clint observed.
“They are nervous, Clint,” she said. “After all, you’re the Gunsmith.”
Clint sat back in his saddle.
“This can go very badly,” he said.
“Bad for you,” Hunter said.
“You’d be this Hunter I’ve been hearing about?” Clint asked.
Hunter puffed out his chest.
“You heard of me?”
“Not a lot,” Clint said. “Right now I’m talking to your boss.”
Hunter’s face scrunched up and he started to take a step forward until Pearl put her hand on his arm. Clint admired her for not embarrassing the man by scolding him in front of people. Instead, she leaned in and said something in his ear. He stopped in his tracks and stepped back.
“There’s not gonna be any trouble, Clint,” Pearl said. “You’re my guest. Step down and have something to eat and drink.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Clint said. “I’m hungry and thirsty.”
Clint dismounted, followed by Deputy Alice Eads. Randy stepped forward to accept the reins of both animals.
“Be careful,” Clint warned him. “He bites.”
Randy looked at Clint to see if he was kidding, then walked all three horses away.
“Come inside,” Pearl said. “We have some food and coffee.”
“Sounds good,” Clint said. “Maybe we can introduce everybody?”
“Well, you met Dave and Hunter. That was Randy who took your horses away. And you followed Del and Tate here, so I assume you know who they are.”
“Just their names, Del and Tate,” Clint said. “This is Alice Eads. She’s been riding with me for a while.”
“Hello, Alice,” Pearl said.
“Miss Starr.”
“Now that we know who everybody is, let’s go and have something to eat. Hunter made some beef stew. It’s his specialty.”
“He cooks?” Alice asked, eyeing Hunter.
“Why not?” Hunter asked.
“Del, you, Tate, and Randy will eat in one of the tents. Dave, you’re with us.”
“Why Dave?” Hunter masked.
She looked at him and said, “I want him with us. Is that okay with you?”
Hunter didn’t look happy, but he didn’t complain.
Dave made himself useful and brought everybody a plate of beef stew and a cup of coffee, then sat down with his own meal.
“What brings you around here, Clint?” Pearl asked.
“Actually, I thought I might find your mother around here.”
“So you followed Del and Tate thinking they’d lead you to her?”
Clint shrugged.
“They tried to steal my horse,” he said. “I figured they were part of some gang.”
“My gang,” Pearl said.
“You’re a little young to be the leader of a gang, aren’t you, Pearl?”
“I’m twenty,” she said. “Most girls my age are married by now, and have children. I don’t want a husband and children. Not now. So . . .”
“A chip off the old block, huh?”
“What?” she asked.
“Like mother, like daughter,” Dave said.
Pearl looked at him.
“I guess you’re right,” she told him. Then she looked at Clint. “So now what? Now that you’ve found a gang?”
“I don’t know,” Clint said.
“I never heard any stories about you being a lawbreaker, so you’re not looking for a gang to join,” Pearl said.
“Like I said,” Clint replied. “I was just looking for your mother.”
“And I think I asked what for?”
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�We’re old friends, and I was passing through—that is, until those other two tried to steal my horse. That gave me the idea to follow them.” He washed some stew down with the weak coffee. “Stew’s not bad, Hunter.”
Hunter just grumbled.
“Do you know where your mother is, Pearl?” he asked then.
“No.”
“When’s the last time you saw her?”
“Not for a long time,” she said. “Not since Sam was killed.”
“Yeah, I heard about that,” Clint said. “That was too bad.”
“Do you think she went into hiding after that?” Alice asked.
“My mother doesn’t hide,” Pearl said. “I just don’t think she wants to be found right now.”
Alice looked at Clint, who knew at that moment she didn’t know the difference.
THIRTY-FOUR
After they’d finished their meal, Pearl stood up and said, “Let’s go for a walk.”
Hunter immediately stood up, followed by Dave Slaughter and Alice Eads.
“No,” Pearl said to them all, “not you, just me and Clint.”
“What for?” Hunter demanded.
“I want to have a private talk with him,” she said. “Just stay here.” She looked around and added, “All of you.”
Hunter didn’t like it, but he sat back down. Alice looked at Clint, who shook his head slightly. She didn’t look frightened, just concerned, so he assumed she’d be all right with them. Besides, Dave knew who and what she was, and he wasn’t saying . . . yet.
“Clint?”
He stood up and followed Pearl to the door and out, closing it behind them.
Once outside, Pearl took them a short way from the camp, then slowed to a stroll.
“You really haven’t seen my mother, Clint?” she asked.
“Not for a long time, Pearl,” he said. “You really don’t know where she is?”
“I have no idea,” she said. “I’m hoping she’ll come back here eventually.” She shook her head. “She took Sam’s death really hard.”
“And you?”
She shrugged. She was tall, and walked easily next to him, matching his strides. The gun on her hip did not look out of place. Take the gun away, though, and put her in a dress and she’d look sweet—sweet and beautiful.
“What are you trying to do here, Pearl?” Clint asked. “You’re young, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Are you looking to wind up at the end of one of Judge Parker’s ropes?”
“Why?” She asked. “I ain’t killed nobody. We’ve just robbed some banks, and stages.”
“Nobody was killed during those robberies?”
“Well, sure, but I didn’t kill ’em.”
“If your men killed them, you’re as guilty as they are.”
“That don’t sound fair.”
“That’s the law.”
They were walking down by the river’s edge. She looked at him.
“What do you care about the law?”
“I’ve always been on the side of the law, Pearl,” he said. “You’ve never heard anything about me being on the other side.”
“My mom thought a lot of you,” she said.
“That was a long time ago,” he said. “Before Sam.”
“Sam’s gone,” she said.
“A lot of time has gone by,” Clint said. “People go in different directions.”
She picked up a stone from the ground, tossed it into the river, then turned and looked at Clint.
“What are you doin’ here, Clint?” she asked. “I mean, really? Are you lookin’ for my mom, or for me?”
“I told Dave I was lookin’ for Belle,” he answered. “Just happened to be in the neighborhood.”
“But what’s the real reason you’re here?” she asked.
He looked at her, studied her face for a moment, and decided to tell her the truth.
“I’m here because Judge Parker asked me to come and find you,” he said.
“And why would you do that for him?” she asked. “Are you wearin’ a badge?”
“No badge,” Clint said. “But if he sent somebody who was wearing a badge and they took you back, you’d find yourself at the end of a rope, like I said.”
“So what’ll be different with you?” she asked.
“I thought maybe I could change your mind,” he said. “You’re young, you’re smart, and you’re beautiful. You could do anything.”
“And you’d help me?”
“I’d do all I can.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew your mother,” he said, “and I knew you, once.”
She grinned.
“When I was a little girl.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m not a little girl anymore, Clint,” she said.
“I know that.”
“I make my own decisions.”
“Like robbing banks? And wearing a gun?”
“It was good enough for my mother.”
“And look what happened to her,” he said.
“Well, that’s just it,” she said. “I don’t know what happened to her.”
“She lost two good men,” he said. “First your father, and now Sam.”
“Well,” she said, “I can tell you for sure that’s not gonna happen to me.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because,” she said, heading back to the house, “I don’t know any good men.”
THIRTY-FIVE
Pearl offered to make room in one of the tents for Clint and Alice, but they told her they preferred to camp down by the river. Then Pearl said Alice could stay in the house with her, and Clint left the decision up to the deputy marshal.
“No,” she said. “Uh-uh.”
“Why not?” Clint asked. “Maybe you’ll get to know Pearl better.”
“I don’t want to get to know her better,” Alice said. “I want to arrest her and take her back to Fort Smith. When are we going to do that?”
“If we try to do that now, there’ll be gunplay,” Clint said. “We’ll have to kill some of these men.”
“Isn’t that our job?” she asked, then amended, “My job?”
“Arrest, yes,” Clint said, “kill, no. Killing is not your job, Alice.”
They were down by the river making camp. Pearl told Clint that if Alice wanted to sleep in the house, all she had to do was come in.
“What about you?” Alice asked.
“What about me?”
“If I go in the house, you’ll be out here alone,” she said.
“I’m used to being alone.”
“Not in a camp full of outlaws,” she said. “If I leave you here alone, one of them will get it into his head to kill you—kill the Gunsmith and make a name for himself.”
“You’re probably right,” Clint said.
“Then I’ll stay with you,” she said, “and watch your back.”
“You’re starting to think like a lawman now,” Clint said. “I’m proud of you.”
Inside the house, Hunter said to Pearl, “What did you and him talk about?”
“The old days.”
“What old days?” Hunter demanded.
“We talked about my mother, Hunter,” she said. “That’s really none of your business, is it?”
“If it affects this gang, it’s my business,” he said.
“I’ll decide what affects the gang and what doesn’t,” she shot back. “Don’t forget who’s in charge. I’m the Bandit Princess, remember? You’re not the Bandit King.”
He glared at her for a moment, then turned and stormed out, slamming the door.
Pearl looked at Dave, who was sitting at the table. He’d kept quiet during the exchange.
“What do you think, Dave?” she asked.
“The woman is a deputy marshal from Judge Parker’s court, Pearl,” he said.
“What? Why didn’t you tell me that before?” she demanded.
“I didn’t want to say it in front of anyone else.”
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“Why not?”
“They would’ve killed her.”
“Why’d you bring them here if you knew she was the law?”
“She’s not in charge,” Dave said. “Clint is.”
“He’s not wearin’ a badge,” she said. “He told me that.”
“He’s not the type,” Dave said. “Once he was, a long time ago, but not anymore.”
“What do they want here?”
“Different things,” Dave said. “I think she wants to arrest you and take you back.”
“And what does he want?”
“Didn’t he tell you?”
“He did,” she said, “but I don’t know whether to believe him or not. Maybe he’s just waitin’ for a chance to take me back.”
“If he wanted to take you back, he would,” Dave said. “You don’t think he’s afraid of your men, do you?”
“Of course not.”
“They’d all be dead by now if that’s what he wanted,” Dave said.
“So what are you tellin’ me?”
He shrugged.
“Maybe this will be good for you,” he said, “help you decide what you want to do.”
“What would my mother have done years ago, in this position?”
“That’s easy,” Dave said.
“Is it?”
Dave nodded and stood up, headed for the door.
“Wait!”
He stopped.
“If it’s easy, then tell me.”
“If it’s easy,” he said, “you’ll figure it out.”
He went out, closed the door, and left her alone with her thoughts.
THIRTY-SIX
Hunter gathered the men in one tent. The other he shared with Dave Slaughter, but he didn’t want to include Dave in this meeting.
“What’s goin’ on?” Randy asked.
“What’s goin’ on is I’m takin’ over,” Hunter said. “This gang is mine now.”
“What about Pearl?” Del asked.
“What about her?” Hunter said. “She hasn’t got what it takes to lead this gang anymore. She’s just waitin’ for her mother to come back. She’s become like a little girl, and it’s even worse with Adams bein’ here.”
“So what are we gonna do?” Tate asked.
“We’re gonna kill Adams.”