The E.R. Slade Western Omnibus No.1
Page 22
He pushed all the questions to the back burner while the conversation went on.
“Well, I reckon it won’t hurt nothin’. Don’t try to give him anything. I’ll be watching from the doorway.”
Lee turned and put his feet on the floor, sitting up. The door opened from the office, and in they came. Carmen looked worried. She smiled fleetingly at him, and was let into his cell. The door clanged shut after her and the sheriff turned the key. He put the light he’d brought in on the floor outside the bars, out of reach of anyone in the cell.
“Lady to see you,” the sheriff said unnecessarily and went to a stool by the door into the front office to sit down.
Carmen came and sat down beside Lee on the cot, about two feet away, and clasped her hands tightly in her lap.
“Did you do it?” she asked tautly.
“What?”
“Kill that man in San Pablo.”
“I never even saw the man. I just rode into town and was arrested because I looked like Riley. You’ve seen us both. You know how similar looking we are.”
“I thought you were brothers. You are not?”
“No.”
“I believe you.”
“How about doing something about making him believe me?” He jerked his thumb towards Hawkins.
“What?”
“Tell him you know me well enough that I couldn’t have done it.”
“I don’t. And I won’t lie in court. But I do believe you are innocent of that.”
There was a pause.
“So what did you want to see me about?” he asked.
“I wanted you to help me. But I’ll try to help you instead, if I can. I owe you that much. But I can’t do a lot.”
He nodded. She got up and went to the door of the cell and asked to be let out. Then she and the sheriff went into the office again, and he heard them talking.
“Riley—that man in there is definitely not Riley—Riley, the real Riley, is after me. He wants some gold he knows I own. I inherited it from my father.”
“Then you must be the Haversam girl. I heard about it. This other Riley feller must be quite an outlaw.”
“He is. Can I stay here with you, and then leave with you when you go to San Pablo? I need protection.”
“Sure can, little lady. Won’t no harm come to you if’n you stay with me.”
“Thank you.”
Chapter Eleven
Riley had come out into the street again and seen no sign of Carmen Haversam, so he thought a few moments and considered the chances of her being able to jump from a second story window without hurting herself. Then he shook his head and went across the street, to stand out of sight of the Nugget’s batwings behind someone’s fancy top buggy.
It wasn’t very long before Carmen came outside cautiously, looking all around. He watched her disappear into the alley next to the Nugget, waited a few seconds and then followed.
He saw her go down the rear of the line of buildings, and then turn between two of them. One was the sheriff’s office and jail, the other the carpenter’s shop. He doubted she was interested in the carpenter’s shop.
In a couple of minutes’ time he confirmed that she had gone into the sheriff’s office. He debated what should be done. The sun was going to be up in a couple of hours or so. If he captured Carmen again and got her tied up, all that would be gained was a few more hours of shuteye. The risk that Pirate would try something on his own again would be renewed, a drawback, and they would still have to arrange for her to escape again anyway, another drawback. It hardly seemed worth a couple of hours’ sleep. She had legitimately escaped now, and as long she was followed, the gold would turn up.
As he returned to the fleabag hotel, he considered one other factor. Hawkins from San Pablo was here, certainly looking for him. He would have to be taken care of. Though that wouldn’t be much of a problem in itself, the question was when to do it. Right now Hawkins was serving the useful purpose of keeping Carmen in one place. She thought he was protecting her and presumably would stay with him. He would never be hard to find. And most likely he wouldn’t budge until morning, when he’d had all the shuteye he wanted. He might even make Carmen feel secure enough that she would talk him into coming with her when she went to the gold. When the gold turned up, then would be the time to settle all the scores. Meaning kill Hawkins, and Pirate, and then make for the border.
Pirate had gone back to bed. Riley shook him awake, having lit a lantern.
“Now get this straight,” Riley said grimly, “the next time I have to fight you, you won’t live through it. No more friendly tussles. I’ve had all I’m going to take.”
“The woman got away?” Pirate fixed Riley with an iron stare of his one eye.
“I know where she is.”
“You don’t have her, though.”
“I don’t want her.”
“So where is she? She wouldn’t have gotten away if’n you hadn’t come in to make trouble for me. I was just tryin’ to find out where the gold is, so’s we wouldn’t have to follow her all over hell.”
“Did you catch my meaning? I said I don’t want no trouble from you. You’re in for a cut of the gold as it stands, but if you keep it up, I’ll finish the whole thing for you, right now.”
Pirate glowered. For a moment it appeared he might jump up from the bed and do battle, but instead he shrugged.
“So what now?”
“We have breakfast. Then we wait and watch.”
~*~
The revelry died out before dawn, leaving its litter of dead-drunk men lying here and there among old whiskey bottles and horse dung in the street. A hog was rooting around in a pile of trash, along with a couple of dogs. As the racket of human revelry died out, the sounds of desert night creatures could be heard occasionally.
Then at last the sun came up, sending rays into the dusty, bare sheriff’s office through the grimy windows. The sheriff from San Pablo stirred in his chair as the morning sun began to lighten the room, and looked dimly from under the brim of his hat across at Carmen, who was already awake, sitting primly erect on the bench against the wall, on which she had slept out the finish of the night. She was watching him, as if she had been waiting for him to awaken.
“Mornin’,” he said politely, and took off his Stetson long enough to run a hand over his thinning black hair. With the Stetson back in place, he elbowed off the wall he’d tipped the chair back against, bringing his feet down from the desk. The lantern was out. He looked again at Carmen, raising his eyebrows.
“Yes,” she said, “I put it out, once the sun started to come up.”
“Well,” he said, “you want to go git somethin’ to eat?”
“How about Mr. Calloway? Are you going to feed him?”
Hawkins gave her a tolerant look. “I may intend to take him back to San Pablo to hang, but I don’t intend to starve him. Come on.”
They went to Millie’s, on her recommendation, Hawkins taking his six-gun off the desk, where it had lain handy by all night. They were both hungry, and Millie’s food disappeared quite quickly. Ham and eggs and buttered rolls, and coffee strong and black.
They were both silent all through the meal. Finally, they went back to the jailhouse with a platter of food for Lee. Carmen followed Hawkins into the cell block. Lee was still asleep. Hawkins opened the cell door and carried the tray over next to the cot and then shook Lee.
“Breakfast,” Hawkins said, and left the cell, locking it.
Carmen watched through the bars as Lee ate. He said nothing, and neither did she. When he was done, she spoke to Hawkins.
“You’d better take that tray back to Millie’s, or she’ll have a fit.”
“We wouldn’t want that, would we.” Hawkins chuckled good-naturedly and unlocked the cell again.
This was when Carmen made her move. From behind her she brought out a gun, one of the ones that had been in the desk drawer in the sheriff’s office until she removed it in the early morning, not long b
efore Hawkins woke up.
“Sheriff?” she said, her voice relatively steady. “Hold still. Don’t move at all. I’ve got a gun.”
Hawkins, with the keys in one hand and his other holding onto the cell door, stopped where he was.
“This is a big mistake,” he said heavily. “You hadn’t oughter do it, little lady. This man’s a killer. He could kill you next. Even if he don’t, you could hang for he’pin’ him escape. You know that?”
“Just don’t talk. Back out of the doorway. Don’t turn around. That’s right. I’ve shot off guns before. I can hit you from here, for sure. Now, give me the keys. Throw them on the floor in front of me.”
The sheriff followed directions, glancing once over his shoulder to assure himself that the gun was really there.
“Put your gun on the floor. Good. Now, go into the cell.”
Lee came out without bidding and pulled the door shut. He hefted the sheriff’s gun.
“I’ll put this in the desk drawer outside,” he said. “Sorry you got to stay here. Maybe I can nail this Riley for you, and you can see for yourself how much we look alike.”
Hawkins sat down heavily, tiredly, on the cot and looked at them glumly.
“Little lady,” he said soberly, “you done bought yourself a whole passel of trouble.”
Lee suddenly thought of another thing. He told Carmen to cover Hawkins while he bound and gagged him, so as to keep him quiet.
“Sorry,” he apologized to the sheriff. “But we can’t take chances.”
They went into the front office, and Carmen stepped to the door leading out into the street. Lee waved her back.
“Ain’t smart goin’ out that way,” he said as he put his gunbelt on and checked the load in his weapon. “You can bet Riley’s just a-waitin’ for us to come out—at least for you.”
“Then how are we going to leave?”
“Window.”
~*~
When Riley, who was watching from the lounge of the hotel, saw Carmen and Hawkins leave together, he smiled and then settled down to wait some more when they went into Millie’s. The smile remained until they emerged again, Hawkins carrying a tray of food.
Pirate, lounging back in a chair next to him, said, “What do you reckon that means?”
Riley stared out at the two as they went into the sheriff’s office.
“Must have a prisoner,” he retorted irritably.
“I reckon I could figure that out myself. Who do you reckon the prisoner is?”
“How should I know?”
“Thought you knew everything.”
Riley nearly replied and then realized that if he did, it would start a fight he had pledged to carry out to the bitter end. This was no time for such a fight. He had some figuring to do.
“I’m going to take a look,” he said at length. “I’ll be a while. Stay right here, and be ready if there’s trouble.”
Pirate watched him coldly as he left the room. Riley went the back way, climbing over ash piles and trash and a couple of drunks who were still sleeping it off. He went around the far west end of town, coming back behind the buildings on the other side of the street. Catlike in his movements, he went into the alley between the jail building and the carpenter’s shop. There was one small window into the cell block, high up. He did not stand high enough to see in, so he looked around for something to climb on. A rickety hogshead with one end knocked out of it, half full of junk, served the purpose.
When he peered in, his jaw dropped. Just what the devil was going on? Sheriff Hawkins locked in the cell! There was no time to waste.
~*~
Lee had decided upon a window on the same alley, which was on the left side of the sheriff’s office. He lifted the sash and stuck his head out to look both ways. He saw Riley on the hogshead and quickly pulled his head in again, then shut the window as quietly as possible. There was the sound of an empty whiskey bottle clinking against a pebble not more than a few moments later, and Lee hurried Carmen across the office to the opposing window, which looked into the other alley. This one at first appeared to be stuck, then it gave, and he looked out.
No one.
He helped Carmen over the sill, noting Riley’s head appearing at the window they’d been originally intending to go out. Lee dove out the open window, took Carmen’s arm and ran.
The area immediately behind the row of buildings was clear. They ran left along the row and then into a bunch of brush. Lee pushed through, leading Carmen after, and soon they were out of the brush in a clear space. Lee paused a moment, listening, and then led the way in a semicircle north, then east, then south to the rear of the carpenter’s shop. He’d noticed a low shed roof there with a large scattering of broken and battered boards, barrel staves, pots and other such rubbish, extending from below it both ways along the back sides of the buildings and out into the brush a bit. The important thing about it was there was the possibility of leaving no tracks. He picked Carmen up without consulting her and carried her carefully, though quickly, across the rubbish to the shed roof. He sat her on the edge of it and then pulled himself up after.
The building was a two-story affair, average enough, with the low lean-to added to the rear, the roof of which they were now on. There was a second-floor window overlooking the brushland and within easy reach of anyone on the lean-to roof. Lee tried the sash, found it was free and opened it.
With both of them inside, he shut it again. They soon saw Riley come trotting along out of the brushland, watching the ground intently. He reached the pile of rubbish, looked in all directions, and then began to search along the edge of the rubbish for tracks.
“Come on,” Lee said urgently in a whisper. “There’s no time to wait around. That will give us some time, but not much. Let’s go downstairs.”
The carpenter shop, on the ground floor, was not yet open. The building appeared deserted, the doors locked. There was a ladder in the back room, along with some work clothes and tools. Lee had an idea.
“Put on a pair of these overalls and boots,” he directed. “And get that long hair of yours under a cap.”
In a few minutes they came out the front door of the carpenter’s shop looking like a pair of workmen, carrying a ladder and some tools. Lee prayed it would work, because his gun was under the loose overalls where he couldn’t get to it if he needed to, and because it had cost him his only Stetson.
They went down the street, trying not to seem in a hurry, purposely yawning and acting as if the only thing on their minds was the unfortunate fact that they had a day’s work before them. They went down to the livery and inside.
A stable hand was cleaning out the stalls and putting down new bedding. He looked up in surprise as they entered.
“Need a couple of fresh horses,” Lee said. Fortunately this was not the same stable hand he’d dealt with before. “And a wagon. Got one?”
“Got two. Where you goin’?”
“Mr. Bingham said he needed some work done on his roof. We’ll be all day.”
Lee wanted to get his own sorrel, but didn’t dare give himself away. And it might help to mislead Riley if he left his horse behind. The gain from having the animal with them wouldn’t be enough to warrant cutting down on their head start. The draft horses wouldn’t be much for riding, should they be needed for that, but this had to appear as real as possible.
“Okay,” the stable hand said. “I’ll get a team hooked onto a real nice wagon, and you’ll be on your way in no time at all.”
Lee helped. While he helped, he kept watching the street. He saw Riley once or twice, looking this way and that puzzledly, but he didn’t come towards the livery.
“Got a canteen?” Lee asked casually. “Lost mine a while back. Need it working on that roof in the sun all day long.”
“Ain’t got any for rent, if that’s what you mean. Got my own. You can buy one at the Mercantile. Charge it up to your boss.” He grinned.
“He’s a damned miser,” Lee returned gloomily. “Ain
’t got nothing we could use? Have a heart. I’ll bring it back tonight.”
The stable hand relented and gave up his own.
“I reckon you’ll get a reward in heaven for that,” Lee said warmly. He dug out money for the rental of the wagon and team, and then nearly made the mistake of helping Carmen into the wagon. He remembered just in time that she wasn’t supposed to be a lady, and waved at her impatiently to get in. He shook his head at the stable hand as if to say he despaired of the help you got these days, and then chucked the ladder in and climbed up to take the reins.
As they drove out of town, Carmen swung around in her seat to look back.
“Face front,” Lee said tersely in a low voice. “No carpenter would care that much about the town he’s leaving for the day.”
She turned around to face forward again, and stayed that way.
Only when they were certainly out of sight of the town did Lee allow himself a look back. No one was to be seen close behind, but that didn’t mean anything. Riley was likely tricky enough to be following without showing himself.
“Who do you know out this way?” he asked Carmen, waving at the western horizon ahead of them, with the hills on both sides of the valley and a set of ranch buildings just visible ahead.
“The Littletons.”
“That’s fine. He’s a man knows right from wrong and ain’t afraid to defend what he believes in, leastways that’s what I hear. Is he that way?”
“Yes. Do you think it’s fair to put him and Amanda and Tommy in danger by going there?”
“What do you suggest? Got a better place in mind? Want to just ride west into the desert with no food and one canteen of water? Not even a decent hat on?”
She laughed, for the first time he’d ever heard, and he found he enjoyed the sound, and also the surprise that she could find something to laugh about in their situation. It was light and tinkling, like little bells.
“Well, have you?” he pressed.
“No,” she said, turning serious. “I guess it’s the only choice.”
“What we want is a good place to leave you where you’ll be safe as you can ever be in these parts, with Riley and his gang runnin’ loose like a pack of wolves. I’m hoping the Littletons will be it. Maybe, just maybe, Riley will get fooled and he won’t figure out where you are.”