Outlaw's Reckoning

by Ralph Compton

  “I told him to start looking for us as soon as he got the letter. With the mail being as slow as it is, plus however long it took for Swann to get the letter, open it, read it and do something about it, he should have scouts in place by now.”

  “That’s why you were in such a damn hurry to get here!” Jacob said. “That’s a hell of a plan! Why didn’t you tell me about that before?”

  “You’re still on borrowed time,” Gus said.

  Jacob winced. “You still think I got a reason to mess this up?”

  “Why not ask him?” Gus replied as he waved toward Doyle. “He’s the one you need to impress.”

  Rather than pose the question to Doyle, Jacob looked in a completely different direction. After a second, he asked, “Do you see what I see?”

  Doyle followed the other man’s line of sight to discover a pair of stooped-back old-timers dragging what looked to be a huge, dented bucket across the dusty street. “Well, what have we here?” he chuckled.

  Gus couldn’t help but be amused by the sight of the two old men struggling to move an empty container that was nearly big enough to fit both of them inside. “Reminds me of two turtles pulling one shell. My guess is that’s supposed to be the bathtub Abigail ordered.”

  Doyle laughed at that, but Jacob wasn’t amused.

  “Not that,” the bounty hunter said as he pointed a bit farther down the street. “I was talking about them.”

  Both Gus and Doyle were still laughing at the sight of the old turtles when they found what had caught the bounty hunter’s attention. Four men walked toward the hotel, bringing a quick stop to the laughter and causing Gus to jump to his feet.

  Smythe’s glasses reflected the fading sunlight like the eyes of a cat staring at him from where it was about to pounce. Bennett stood to Smythe’s left and Dan stood to his right. The fourth was a tall, lanky fellow Gus didn’t recognize from Benson or Fort Verde. The stranger carried a rifle that was almost as tall as he was, and came to a stop as he brought it up to his shoulder, allowing the other three to keep walking ahead of him.

  “I see you two found each other,” Smythe called out. “That’s very touching. Now just as long as you found Abigail Swann, we can leave you to your reunion.”

  “Don’t do anything foolish,” Gus snarled.

  Knowing the comment was addressed to him, Doyle replied, “I didn’t live this long bein’ foolish.” With that, he placed his hand upon his holstered .45 and stepped onto the edge of the porch.

  Gus hopped down from the porch. When he took a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw Jacob had put his back to the hotel so he could get a better look at the other side of the street.

  “There’s more coming from that direction,” the bounty hunter said.

  “And a few more on the roof of the stable,” Gus added. He’d seen a pair of heads poke up from behind the sign on top of the long, sagging building that was across the street and down a ways from the hotel. Either those two knew they’d been spotted or they were responding to a signal from Smythe, because they straightened up just enough to make their presence known. Each of them propped a rifle upon their knees so it could be displayed as well.

  Smythe and his men came to a stop directly in front of the stable. That put them about thirty yards away from the hotel. Standing like a statue in the middle of the street, Smythe took a slow look around. The only way Gus knew the man’s head was moving at all was because of the shifting reflection from Smythe’s spectacles.

  “Bring her out and hand her over,” Smythe demanded. “Do it now and do it quick.”

  “What makes you think we even got her?” Doyle asked.

  “Don’t insult my intelligence.”

  “All right, then. You shoot us and you’ll never know where she is.”

  Gus could see Smythe’s grin from where he was standing. “Or,” Smythe replied, “I can burn the lot of you off the face of the earth and tear this pathetic town apart to find her at my leisure.”

  Doyle turned to glance toward Gus and said, “I guess he’s got us there.”

  This was Doyle’s element. If Gus had learned one thing during his years of riding through storms of hellfire and flying lead with the man, he knew that Doyle only truly came alive when he rode on the edge of death. Plenty of men liked to talk about living that way, but not many of them could back it up. Doyle, on the other hand, simply found it amusing to test the will of the Reaper.

  “I fooled about with you men enough already,” Smythe said. “Next time my man here fires his rifle, it’ll be the death of you, Gus.”

  But Gus didn’t need to be told the stranger with the rifle behind Bennett was the same one who had fired the shot to put the most recent wound in his shoulder. The stranger had a dangerous yet familiar glint in his eye that let him know he’d already gotten a taste for Gus’s blood.

  Smythe and Doyle swapped a few threats, but that just gave Gus the time he needed to get a look at the other batch of men approaching the hotel. That bunch rode down the western end of the street, which put the hotel and Smythe’s men in front of them. Two men in the bunch rode on either side of a third. That third man sat tall in his saddle and was decked out in a suit that may have been even fancier than Smythe’s. Those expensive clothes said a lot to Gus, but not as much as the horse the third man led by the reins. The horse was saddled up and ready for a rider, but wasn’t bearing one just yet. Once the group got a little closer, Gus could see that the saddle was the broader, flatter kind made to be used by ladies.

  “We have her, all right,” Gus declared.

  Jacob stepped forward to grab hold of Gus’s arm. “What the hell are you doing?” he hissed.

  Pulling his arm free, Gus raised his voice and said, “Abigail Swann. That’s who you’re after, right?”

  “Abigail Swann?” asked the well-dressed fellow leading the riderless horse. He bellowed his next question loudly enough to be heard from one end of Killebrew to the other. “Where is she?”

  “I’ve got her,” Gus said. “But it seems these men have come to take her away from me. In fact, I believe they were the ones who took her in the first place.”

  The man who’d brought two partners and an extra horse along with him was refined, but not soft around the edges. His hair and beard were more silver than gray, which was a quality that seemed to come naturally to rich folks. From what Gus had heard, Thomas Swann was one of the richest folks around.

  “Where’s my daughter?” the silver-haired man asked, as if to confirm what Gus had already pieced together. “I was told I’d find her here.”

  “I sent the letter making that claim, sir,” Gus replied. “I’m glad to see you brought along some extra help. Looks like we’re gonna need it.”

  So far, the day was one of the few that actually spooled out exactly as Gus had planned. He’d arrived at the meeting place outside of Prescott, Abigail was still in one piece and her father had arrived to take her. Even Gus’s guess that Thomas Swann would bring extra guns with him had panned out, but the day wasn’t over yet.

  At the other end of the street, Smythe wore the amused expression of a man taking in a stage show. “I hope you brought the ransom money, Mr. Swann. I trust you remember the original amount? Seeing as how you arrived in such a timely manner, I won’t even charge interest for the inconvenience I’ve been forced to endure thus far.”

  “To hell with your inconvenience,” Swann blustered. “If one of you men doesn’t produce my little girl right quick, I’ll have my men earn their pay by cleaning out every last greasy one of you from this town!”

  Smythe remained in his spot, but Bennett and Dan shifted anxiously on either side of him. Calming the other two with subtle motions of his hands, Smythe said, “The arrangement is the same, Mr. Swann. Hand over the sum we agreed upon or your daughter dies. I have more than enough men here to finish the job.”

  “And I got men of my own,” Swann replied. “There’ll be plenty more on the way if need be.”

  Gu
s was keeping an eye on those men Swann referred to. Both looked more like ranch hands than gunmen. They dressed like cowboys and had the lean, eager faces of rowdy kids who’d gotten into a fight or two. Their hands were on their guns, but hadn’t brought them up to bear just yet. That kind of hesitance could make them even worse than useless.

  “All that matters is who’s here right now,” Smythe said. “Are you willing to bet the men I brought won’t be able to pick your boys off? For that matter, do you think I can’t kill your daughter in front of you if I don’t receive my money?”

  “You harm a hair on her head and I’ll skin you alive!” Swann shouted.

  Always ready to add more kindling to the fire, Doyle added, “And I’ll help! I didn’t come all this way just to talk.”

  Just then, one of the windows on the second floor of the hotel was opened and Abigail leaned outside. “Daddy!” she hollered. “Is that really you?”

  Swann’s eyes widened and he looked up to the window where his daughter was waving. Snapping his fingers at the men on either side of him, he barked, “Get her out of there!”

  Both of the men with Thomas Swann drew their pistols and then pointed them at the silver-haired man.

  “Now,” Smythe said, “about that money you owe.”

  Chapter 25

  “Doyle, can you get those two with Mr. Swann?” Gus asked under his breath.

  “Sure.”

  “Jacob, fire all you got at that roof across the street.”

  “But I only got one gun,” the bounty hunter protested.

  “Then make the best of it.” With that, Gus jumped into the street, drew the Army model .44 from his holster and fired at Smythe.

  Doyle let out a wild howl as he took up a gun in each hand and sent a storm of lead toward the men on either side of Abigail’s father. The men on either side of Swann opened fire. Even after one of them was hit, he kept pulling his trigger until another round spun him to one side and sent him flying to the ground.

  Fortunately, Mr. Swann had the sense to duck. The silver-haired man’s good fortune continued when the men who’d so recently betrayed him shifted their focus onto Doyle. All Swann could do from there was wrap his arms around his horse’s neck and pray he lived through the next couple of seconds.

  Jacob may not have sounded too confident a moment ago, but he held his end up well enough. Gus figured he’d either hear shots from behind him or feel one drill through his back. Either way, he’d know where he stood with the bounty hunter. So far, it seemed that his instinct to take Jacob at his word was holding up.

  Smythe was caught in midsentence and looked positively appalled that Gus wasn’t behaving according to his plan. It took a moment for Smythe to wrap his mind around Gus and Doyle’s inexplicable call to arms, but in that moment a bullet caught Dan in the chest to knock him straight down. Dan landed in a heap and groaned in agony. It was clear he wasn’t about to get up anytime soon.

  Jacob pulled his trigger in a deliberate manner that seemed to go in time to a heartbeat. As he burned through the rounds in his .32, he hopped down from the porch and ran across the street. That way, he was out of the riflemen’s line of fire.

  Swearing under his breath as he watched the bounty hunter run away, Gus planted his feet and gritted his teeth. Although Smythe and Bennett were still in front of him, he was more concerned with the rifleman who’d taken up a position behind and to the right of those men. More gunshots ripped through the stables, where Jacob had scurried for cover. At least the bounty hunter was getting paid back for his cowardice while also keeping those riflemen occupied. Gus couldn’t worry about any of that, however. He had plenty on his plate and only a pair of bullets left to clear it off.

  Smythe fired a shot that whipped through the air within inches of Gus’s left ear. Bennett was shooting up a storm, but his horse was too concerned with running for cover to take proper aim. Dropping to one knee, Gus took a split second to aim, fired his last two shots and sent Bennett to the ground.

  Now that he had a moment to breathe, Gus ran for the closest water trough, which happened to be in front of the hotel. By the time his backside hit the dirt and his shoulder hit the back of the trough, Gus was already emptying the .44’s cylinder and fishing fresh rounds from his gun belt. In a matter of seconds, hot lead from Smythe’s pistol began punching through the wood on either side of him.

  Gus turned to check on Doyle and instead saw Mr. Swann riding straight toward him. The rich man’s panicked horse veered just before stampeding through the trough and wound up stomping onto the porch of the hotel. Amid the sound of hooves pounding against the porch, the rider dove behind the trough and scrambled to sit beside Gus.

  “What the hell’s the meaning of this?” Thomas Swann growled as he pointed a gun directly at Gus’s face.

  “I’m the one that sent the letter, you idiot,” Gus replied.

  “You set up an ambush?”

  “No! Those men who held you at gunpoint are to blame. Them and the dandy at the other end of the street.”

  More gunfire picked away at the trough, which did nothing at all to diminish the fire in Swann’s eyes. “Those men are on my payroll and you’re just some gunman who opened fire when we came to talk.”

  “You mean those nice fellas who pointed their guns at you? I’ll bet they insisted on coming along with you and nobody else?”

  After a pause, Swann replied, “Yes.”

  “And I bet they know about everything else you’ve done where getting your daughter back is concerned.”

  Slowly, Swann lowered his gun. “Damn it, they set me up! Those two weaseled their way into everything where this kidnapping business is concerned and I thought they were just trying to help me put an end to it.”

  Gus muttered something else, but his words were wiped out by the crack of the stranger’s rifle and the knocking of a fresh hole getting blasted through the trough. Another couple of shots were fired, but these came from directly across the street and up a bit from ground level. Gus chanced a look over the trough and spotted one man on the roof of the stable instead of the two who had been there before. Jacob was that man and he waved like a madman to catch Gus’s attention.

  “I got ’em, Gus!” Jacob shouted. “I got ’em both!”

  Suddenly, Jacob was pulled down beneath the sign on top of the stable by a pair of hands that seemed to come up from the building itself. When the bounty hunter struggled to stand up again, he raised a rifle over his head and brought it down like a spear. The stock cracked against something to make a jarring noise that could be heard all the way down on the street. Jacob stood up again and shouted, “Now I got ’em both!”

  Thanking the bounty hunter just didn’t seem good enough. Actually, Gus wanted to take the younger man as his own son for clearing that roof-top. Rather than stand around and wait for Gus’s accolades, Jacob put the rifle to his shoulder and fired down at the street. Bennett was the first to stand up from cover and he was the first to drop when two of Jacob’s shots found their target. Jacob shifted his aim to the stranger at that end of the street, but was only able to force the rifleman to a better spot behind some barrels.

  The moment Gus saw Smythe running across the street, he fired a shot at him. Smythe kept his head down and moved fast enough to duck behind a post that supported the awning of a building next to the stable.

  Doyle had his hands full as well. Having already put down one of Mr. Swann’s turncoats, Doyle was wrestling with the other. Both men must have either burned through their ammunition or lost their guns, because they were both down to fighting with knives. Fortunately, Doyle was just as dangerous with a blade as he was with a firearm.

  Doyle swung the hunting knife he kept strapped to his boot, causing the gunman to hop backward. The gunman drove forward just as quickly and lunged with a bowie knife. The gunman took one swing after another as his arm snapped out again and again to slice at Doyle. When one of his swings was blocked, Doyle was forced to duck under the bowie knife
before losing his head to it. While he was down, Doyle flicked his arm upward and opened a wide gash across the gunman’s belly.

  “That’s right!” Doyle hollered as he got to his feet and flipped his knife from one hand to another. “You just don’t got what it takes to get through me!” With that, Doyle cocked his arm back so he could swing the knife with as much force as possible. He would have buried the blade into his opponent if not for the rifle shot that sent him spinning like a top.

  “Doyle!” Gus shouted as he watched his partner wobble on his feet and then fall over. Gus looked down the other end of the street and spotted Smythe’s rifleman kneeling behind a barrel so only a sliver of him poked out from behind cover. Before he could do anything, Gus had to fall back. He barely got behind the trough before the stranger sent a round screaming toward him.

  “Let’s put an end to this,” Swann said as he pulled open his vest to reveal a row of guns that had been tucked under his belt. Before he could draw any of the firearms, Gus pushed Swann down with one hand flat against his chest.

  Keeping the silver-haired man pinned while he plucked two of the guns from Swann’s belt, Gus said, “You’re gonna go into that hotel and get your daughter.”

  “But I can—”

  “You can do what I told you to do!” Gus snapped. “You came here for her, so go!”

  There was no denying the ferocity in Gus’s eyes as he gave the order and it was doubtful the devil himself could have gotten Gus to change his mind. Rather than draw any more of that ire, Swann took up his gun with a trembling hand and nodded anxiously. Gus was already on the move.

  The moment Gus stood up, he was under fire. Dan was still alive, but he was unwilling or unable to get to his feet. He fired at Gus from where he’d managed to drag himself after falling and was promptly put down for good by a shot from above. Gus didn’t bother waving his thanks to Jacob and he didn’t count on the bounty hunter to save him again. On the contrary, there wasn’t much Jacob could do from his perch since both Smythe and the rifleman were directly under him.