Ralph Compton Sixguns and Double Eagles

by Compton, Ralph

  “From eastern Arizona,” Drade replied.

  “I don’t know about the copper,” said Franks, “but I got my doubts about there bein’ enough gold and silver in southern Colorado. Most of the ore’s low grade, and there’s no way to mine it, payin’ wages.”

  “Ah, but I have found a way,” Drade replied. “Elias Hawk and Hobie Denbow will be joining our organization soon, and they have promised us the necessary gold and silver for a share of our take.”

  “I don’t know how they can afford it,” said Franks.

  “Neither do I,” Drade said, “but that’s their problem.”

  “You’re equally sure about the copper, then,” said Franks.

  “I am,” Drade said, “but the source will be my secret. Not even you will know.”

  “Thanks,” said Franks. “I appreciate your confidence.”

  Drade laughed. “No offense. I’m bringin’ in Dent Shankler and Turk Pardue from Carson City, and Emo Hanks, from New Orleans, so I can’t afford to seem partial to any one man. Not even you.”

  “Seems to me these new plans of yours is gonna complicate things,” said Franks. “I’m not all that strong on accumulatin’ gold, unless I know where it’s goin‘. How many of us is gonna know where that stronghold is?”

  “For a while, only those directly involved in the moving of it,” Drade said. “Enough of the new operation for now. There’s still some loose ends to be eliminated, especially in San Francisco. I want you to go there immediately. Ride to Cheyenne. There you’ll board the Union Pacific. As you know, Belton and Wilks have been arrested, and there’s no way we can get to them. I’ve learned, however, that the federals are dispatching a private coach to San Francisco for the moving of Belton and Wilks to Washington. They’ll be under heavy guard.”

  “We’re pullin’ out of San Francisco, and they can’t hurt us,” Franks said. “Why bother with them?”

  “Because they’re originally from here,” said Drade, “and they know entirely too much. Now shut up and listen, damn it. You’re getting ahead of me.”

  “I’m listening,” Franks said. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to see that Belton and Wilks never reach Washington,” Drade said, “and how you accomplish it is entirely up to you. While our organization in San Francisco is dead, with the exception of Pike and Landry we should still have eighteen men there. I’m supplying you with their names and how you may find them. You may invite them here, if they wish to come. We can use them. But prior to that you will make use of as many of them as you may need, to silence Belton and Wilks.”

  “What about the hombres that ruined us in San Francisco?” Franks asked. “Do you aim to let them get away with that?”

  “I was getting to that,” said Drade angrily. “Once you’ve arranged to take care of Belton and Wilks, you can remind what’s left of our bunch that there’s still a price on the heads of Stone and Elfego of twenty-five thousand. You can sweeten the pot a little, if you like. I’d pay another twenty-five thousand to any man who can salt down Bryan Silver.”

  “Is that all?”

  “That’s all,” Drade said. “Board the Union Pacific today, and you’ll reach San Francisco with maybe three days to wrap it all up.”

  “I’m gone, then,” said Franks.

  When Franks had gone, Drade poured himself a drink, savoring the bourbon. Franks was ambitious, and Drade had no doubt the first part of his mission would be successful. If he was doubly successful and eliminated Silver, Stone, and Elfego, then all the better.

  Chapter 17

  San Francisco, California. February 26, 1885.

  “The guards and the railroad coach will be here March first,” Silver said.

  “I reckon you’ll be glad to get that pair of varmints off your hands,” said Wes. “When El Lobo and me have seen you off, we’ll be ridin’ to El Paso. We’ll likely have to throw our hats in first, to see if Tamara and Renita will take us back.”

  “You’re welcome to go anytime,” Silver said. “I’ve never gotten around to thanking the two of you for what you’ve accomplished.”

  “We didn’t do all that well in New Orleans and Carson City,” said Wes, “and while we had some success here in San Francisco, I don’t feel like we’ve hurt the Dragon too much.”

  “Through your efforts, we’ve recovered millions in gold,” Silver said, “and while the Dragon hasn’t been destroyed, you’ve proven that it’s by no means invincible. There’ll be a reward for the recovery of the gold, I’m sure.”

  “When this is all over, why don’t you join us in El Paso for a while?” Wes asked. “I reckon it’s time you met Renita and Tamara.”

  “Maybe I will,” said Silver. “You want to introduce me as the varmint that dragged the two of you away, without even a letter, for six months.”

  “Something like that,” Wes said.

  “We don’t be free of Dragon,” El Lobo said.

  “I think they’re finished in this area,” said Silver.

  “You made page two of The San Francisco Chronicle,” Wes said.

  “So I noticed,” said Silver. “Larkin, the reporter, wasn’t impressed with me, and that’s been in our favor. He was so intent on playing me down that he treated the whole thing as a local problem, rather than a conspiracy. It worked out better than I’d hoped.”

  “He didn’t even mention the recovery of the gold,” Wes said. “Captain Stevens and his crew did well by us.”

  Silver, Wes, and El Lobo stopped at Buford Anderson’s office, and Silver told him of the proposed arrival time of the railroad coach and the transfer of the prisoners.

  “Thanks,” Anderson said. “They’re secure enough, but I’ll be glad to see them go. But do you reckon them that’s left won’t plan some kind of rescue?”

  “No,” said Silver. “They’re more inclined to silence Belton and Wilks with a slug. We’ll have to be strictly on our guard, while transferring them from your cell to the railroad.”

  “I’ll see that they reach the railroad alive,” Anderson said.

  “I’m obliged,” said Silver.

  Gandy Franks arrived in San Francisco three days before the scheduled transfer of the prisoners. Before contacting any of the surviving gunmen, he made a careful examination of the federal courthouse in which Belton and Wilks were imprisoned. As he had expected, there was virtually no chance of his getting to them until they were removed. He then set about contacting those who might take vengeance against the trio who had destroyed their organization in San Francisco. Two days before Belton and Wilks would be taken away, sixteen men met at the appointed place, and Franks told them of the change in location and of the proposed bounty on the heads of Bryan Silver, Wes Stone, and Palo Elfego.

  “I like the sound of it,” one of the gunmen said, “but you ain’t give us enough time.”

  “Sorry,” Franks said, “but I got here soon as I could, after the orders come down.”

  “We wasn’t paid when ever‘thing blew up,” said another of the group. “I ain’t goin’ to Denver or nowhere else, until I’m paid what’s owin’ me.”

  “All of you will be paid before you leave here tonight,” Franks said, “with enough for your railroad fare to Cheyenne. You’ll ride from there.”

  “What’s about to happen to Belton and Wilks?” one of the group asked.

  “That’s no concern of yours, Burrows,” Franks said. “Since you’re a newcomer to our organization, I’m going to pretend you never asked. I’ll be back in Denver on the fourth of March. Those of you choosing to relocate may contact me at the Grand Hotel.”

  As the time for his departure from San Francisco neared, Silver chose to spend some time with his friend, Sheriff Tom Rigger, leaving Wes and El Lobo at loose ends. Having ridden along the bay, they reined up, their eyes on the blue of the distant Pacific. Empty had loped on ahead, and realizing Wes and El Lobo were no longer following, he wandered back.

  “This place kind of grows on you,” Wes
said. “Once we leave here, I wonder if we’ll ever see it again?”

  “No care,” said El Lobo. “Big water, ships malo.”

  Wes laughed. “Come on, amigo. We got shanghaied, but they didn’t drown us.”

  “No like,” El Lobo insisted. “Dragon here.”

  “We’ve seen no evidence of that since Belton and Wilks were arrested,” said Wes, “and the day after tomorrow they’ll be gone.”

  But El Lobo, unsatisfied, shook his head. While he said nothing, he believed the forces of evil were not finished with them, that something more was about to happen. And it did, in the dusk of early evening....

  “We’re having supper with Tom Rigger,” Silver said the day before he was to leave on the Union Pacific.

  “Bueno,” said Wes. “I’d like to see him again before we ride out.”

  An hour before sundown, Wes, El Lobo, and Silver reined up before Rigger’s office and the four of them rode to a restaurant overlooking the bay.

  “It’s a mite expensive,” Rigger said. “I don’t come here often, but this is special.”

  “It is, for a fact,” said Silver, “and I’m buying.”

  They spent an enjoyable hour over the meal. Wes and El Lobo were mostly silent, for they enjoyed listening as Silver and Rigger talked of the old days in Texas. Rigger, Wes, and El Lobo waited while Silver paid, and then followed him out into the gathering dusk. There was a bracket lamp on each side of the door, and suddenly one of them exploded in a shower of glass as Winchesters roared. The second slug struck Silver, slamming him in the shoulder while a third ripped into his side. In an instant, Wes and El Lobo drew their Colts and began firing at muzzle flashes. Tom Rigger was hit before he could fire a shot, stumbling back through the restaurant’s doorway. Suddenly it was over as abruptly as it had begun. Bleeding from two wounds, Silver struggled to his feet. Holstering his Colts, Wes knelt beside Tom Rigger. His eyes were closed and blood welled from a wound in his chest.

  “Tom,” Silver cried. “Tom!”

  But the old lawman was dead. Repeatedly, Wes tried for a pulse and found none. From the restaurant, men surged to the door, backing away when they viewed the bloody body of Tom Rigger. Silver had slumped down with his back against the wall, his head in his hands. Grim-faced, El Lobo was punching out empties and feeding new shells into his twin Colts. Several hacks had drawn up outside the restaurant, awaiting passengers.

  “Here!” Wes shouted.

  When the vehicle dew up beside the door, Wes and El Lobo lifted Silver into it.

  “Don’t leave Tom here,” said Silver through gritted teeth. “He goes with us.”

  Wordlessly, Wes and El Lobo lifted the old lawman into the hack.

  “To the nearest doctor or hospital,” Wes ordered the driver.

  Wes and El Lobo mounted their horses, falling in behind the hack as it departed. When they drew up before a long, squat building with a flat roof, orderlies rushed out with their stretchers. Silver was taken in first, and then Tom Rigger. Wes and El Lobo followed, but were not allowed into the room where Silver and Rigger were taken. They waited almost two hours before a doctor came out to talk to them.

  “I’m Dr. Hanover,” he said. “What is your relationship to these two men?”

  “Friends,” said Wes. “We’ll do for them whatever needs doing.”

  “The older one is dead,” Dr. Hanover said. “The other has been hit twice, neither of which is fatal. For the record, we’ll need their names, and the law should be notified.”

  “The dead man is the law,” said Wes. “Sheriff Rigger. The other is Bryan Silver. Who do you notify when it’s the sheriff who’s dead?”

  “I have no idea,” Dr. Hanover said. “Perhaps the mayor and the town council. I’ll see to it. The next of kin should be told.”

  “Sheriff Rigger’s from Texas, and there may be no next of kin,” said Wes. “I’ll take responsibility for him, if there’s nobody else. When can we talk to Silver?”

  “Perhaps late tomorrow,” Dr. Hanover said. “He needs rest.”

  Wes and El Lobo returned to the restaurant, taking Sheriff Rigger’s mount and the livery horse Silver had been riding. From there, they rode to Buford Anderson’s office and found Deputy Marshal Condon on duty.

  “When can we see Marshal Anderson?” Wes asked.

  “Not before tomorrow morning,” said Condon, “unless it’s an emergency.”

  “I consider it an emergency,” Wes said. “Tomorrow he’s to transfer federal prisoners Belton and Wilks to a Union Pacific railroad coach, and Bryan Silver—who’s to deliver them to Washington—has been shot.”

  “Dead?” Condon asked.

  “No,” said Wes, “but he won’t be in any condition to leave for Washington tomorrow. We felt like the marshal ought to know, as soon as possible.”

  “You’re right,” Condon said. “I’ll copy down his address for you and tell you the best way to get there.”

  Wes and El Lobo found the house and quickly told Anderson what had happened.

  “It goes considerably deeper than I thought,” said Anderson. “That means we may be in for it tomorrow, as we take Belton and Wilks to the train. I’ll need to talk to Silver, to see what he feels I should do.”

  “The doctor says he may not be able to talk until late tomorrow,” Wes said.

  “Legally, I must turn Belton and Wilks over to him,” said Anderson. “He will, in turn, see that his men from Washington take them into custody.”

  “Then we may have to do for him what he can’t do for himself,” Wes said. “He was hit twice and has lost a lot of blood.”

  “If you’re to act for him, then I must have his consent,” said Anderson.

  “Then you may have to wait another day to transfer the prisoners,” Wes said.

  “We’ll see,” said Anderson. “See me at the office tomorrow.”

  “No like,” El Lobo said after they had ridden away.

  “I’m not all that fond of him, myself,” said Wes. “He’s got to do everything by the book, and there’s times when you have to bend the rules.”

  Wes and El Lobo returned to the hotel, keeping to dark streets and reining up often, lest they be followed. The Dragon had sought vengeance and they had no way of knowing when its forces might strike again.

  The following morning, Wes and El Lobo returned to the hospital, but Dr. Hanover wasn’t there, and nobody else could tell them anything about Silver’s condition.

  “We’ll ride on to Anderson’s office,” Wes said. “Something tells me there’ll have to be some changes made if this transfer of prisoners can’t be done without Silver.”

  Reaching the marshal’s office, they found his attitude hadn’t changed.

  “The federals will just have to wait another day for their prisoners,” Anderson said. “On my way home tonight, I’ll see if I can talk to Silver, and see what he thinks we ought to do.”

  “Do that,” Wes said shortly, “but don’t you think those men traveling with the Union Pacific coach ought to be told there’s a delay?”

  “Maybe,” said Anderson, “but I don’t see that as my responsibility.”

  When Wes and El Lobo returned to the hospital, they found Dr. Hanover was there and waiting for them.

  “Mr. Silver is awake and insisting on talking to you,” Hanover said, “but I caution you to make it brief.”

  “We will,” said Wes.

  Wes and El Lobo followed the doctor down a long hall and into the room where Silver waited. He was swathed in bandages from his waist to his chin.

  “Damn it,” Silver said, “I’ve been in jails where I had more freedom.”

  “Five minutes,” said Dr. Hanover. “No more.”

  They waited for the doctor to leave, and when he did Wes spoke.

  “Anderson don’t aim to transfer Belton and Wilks until you’re able.”

  “That may be a week, from what the doc says,” Silver replied, “and it can’t wait that long. I want you and El Lobo to go to t
he Union Pacific depot and wait for that train with the private coach. Its only marking will be U.S. GOVERNMENT. The four men coming with it will be Rogers, Sanchez, Chandler, and Goodwin. Tell them who you are, and that you have been working with me. Tell them where I am, and then have one of them come here. I’ll arrange for you and El Lobo to be there with Anderson and his deputies when they leave the courthouse until they deliver Belton and Wilks. Are you willing to do that?”

  “We’ll do it,” said Wes.

  “Then be careful,” Silver said. “After last night, I don’t know what to expect.”

  “Neither do we,” said Wes. “What do you want us to tell Anderson?”

  “Nothing,” Silver said. “Tell him he’s to talk to me.”

  “We’ll head for the Union Pacific depot, then,” said Wes.

  “Bueno,” Silver said. “Now there’s ... one more thing I’d have you do.”

  “Name it,” said Wes.

  “Tom Rigger has no kin. See that he has a proper burial. I’d do it if I could.”

  “I’ve already told the doctor we’d take care of him,” Wes said.

  Dr. Hanover had been waiting for them to leave Silver’s room.

  “His attitude is remarkably good,” said Hanover, “considering his friend was killed.”

  “Tom Rigger was a Texan,” Wes said, “and so is Silver. He has his own way of evening things up.”

  “Silver raise hell,” El Lobo said when they had left the hospital.

  “That’s what I’m expecting,” said Wes. “He’s said almost nothing about Tom, and when it comes to Texans, you have to pay attention to what they don’t say. I won’t be surprised if Silver comes out of that hospital room with blood in his eye and a Colt in his hand.”

  “We watch,” El Lobo said. “Per‘ap Dragon still be here.”

  “I think they are,” said Wes. “Some of them, anyway. But we’re nearing the time for Belton and Wilks to be moved. If there’s any more attempted bushwhacking, I look for it to come somewhere between the federal courthouse and the railroad depot.”

  When Wes and El Lobo reached the Union Pacific depot, there was no sign of the train they were seeking. A locomotive with a string of boxcars sat on a siding, hissing steam. Expecting to have to board a train, Empty lagged behind.