The Western Justice Trilogy

by Gilbert, Morris

  “Yeah, I guess I do. Wish I could turn my head off and stop thinking sometimes.”

  “Well, you want the rest of us to go with you tomorrow morning?” Aaron asked.

  “No, just somebody to tell me how to get there.”

  “I’ll do that,” Ash said.

  “Okay. I want to leave early.”

  After the meal was over, Ty went out to the corral and leaned on the top rail. There were a few horses in, and they made snuffling noises. One of them came and stuck his head up to be fed.

  “Got nothing for you, boy,” Ty said. He stroked the horse’s silky nose, but it snorted and walked away.

  “Did you get enough to eat, Ty?”

  Kincaid turned to see that Leoma had come to stand beside him. “It was a fine meal,” he said.

  “Do you think you’ll find anything out there?”

  “I’ll be surprised. It sounds like a raid, but that could be anybody. There’s a dozen outfits that would like to steal cattle like these fellows did. We don’t know if they have anything to do with the sheep.”

  “What will you look for?”

  “Oh, look for tracks, which way they’d go, how many were there. Some of the tracks will have particular appearances. I’d know them anywhere.”

  She put her arms over the top rail, and the silver moon put its lambent light upon her, lighting up her face. “If you find them, they’ll fight, won’t they?”

  “Most outlaws do.”

  “You won’t go by yourself surely.”

  “I don’t know. It depends on how it falls out.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t go, or I wish you’d promise me if you do find anything you’d come and get help.”

  “Well, I’ll probably do that if they’re with a big bunch.”

  She asked, “Have you seen Raina Vernay lately?”

  “Yes, she was in town not long ago. Seems to be doing fine.”

  “It was strange how you met her.”

  “Well, it was something you wouldn’t read in a book. There I was about to die. She didn’t know hardly anything about me. Took care of me while I was sick, fed me, and then she made it possible for us to get out here. I owe her a lot.”

  “She’s a beautiful woman, don’t you think?”

  He turned and said, “She looks very well. I admire her.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she has grit,” Ty said. He shook his head. “A lot of men wouldn’t have the nerve to do what she did. She ran off and left everything she knew because she couldn’t stand to do things that she didn’t like. Not many men could do that.”

  “I suppose not. I hate it we have this trouble over the sheep.”

  “I think there’s more to it than that. I’ve met Raina’s pa. He’s a good man. Starting a church out in the badlands for the Indians and outlaws, I guess.”

  “Well, I don’t think he’ll have many converts. The Indians have their own gods.”

  “That’s what I told him, but he’s bound and determined to do it.”

  The two stood talking, and finally she walked away, saying, “Good night, Ty.”

  “Good night, Leoma.”

  As he had expected, Ty found no evidence except a great many hoofprints. They could have been the hoofprints of the raiders’ horses, but they could just as easily have been from a party crossing on the way to town.

  He went back to Fort Smith and gave his report to the judge. “I couldn’t find a thing, Judge. I guess if I had been there, I might have seen something.”

  Judge Parker shook his head. “Well, we’ve had more trouble. Mr. Jordan came in and said there have been more sheep on his range and more cattle killed. Eddie Vernay says the same thing. Some of his sheep have been killed. I don’t understand it. Those sheep have been there for a long time and never gave anybody any trouble.”

  “The former owner, did he get along all right with the man that owned the ranch?”

  “Fine. Eddie Vernay always kept his sheep on his own land. That’s what I can’t understand, why a man would change like that.”

  “You want me to go back and see what I can find out?”

  “Well, we’re going to have to have some kind of a hearing. Both men are complaining, Vernay that Jordan killed his sheep and Jordan that Vernay killed his cattle. Something’s beyond this. It’s gonna take a smart man to find it.”

  “Well, you better send somebody else. I never hired myself out as a smart man.”

  “We’ll see how it turns out. I sure get tired of things like this. It’s almost as bad as hanging people.”

  “You feel bad about that, Judge?”

  Judge Isaac Parker gave Kincaid a disgusted look. “Of course I feel bad about it. You think I enjoy hangings?”

  “No, I wouldn’t think so. Why do you do it?”

  “I was appointed to keep order in this Indian Territory. We’re gonna do it, me and Heck and marshals like you.”

  “I haven’t been much help yet.”

  “You just stay on the job. We’ve got to find out what’s going on here, Ty.”

  Kincaid was silent for a time, and then he said, “Do you ever get the feeling that all that goes on here is wasted?”

  “What does that mean? We catch killers, and most of the time we hang them. That’s something.”

  “But isn’t it true that no matter how many you hang, there’s always a new crop you have to find and hang?”

  “I can’t think like that. It’s my duty to do all I can to bring law and order to this territory, and I’m bound to do it.”

  “Judge, don’t you ever get discouraged?”

  “Of course I do, Kincaid, but a man can’t quit because everything doesn’t go right. I look at it like a sacred duty. I think God put me in this job, and I do the best I can. Can’t you see that?” Ty shrugged, and for a moment stood silently regarding the judge. He had immense admiration for Parker but not much faith in the processes of law. Finally he said, “I think you’re an honorable man, Judge, and you do what you see as God’s work. But it seems like an impossible task.”

  “Don’t you think I’ve asked myself many times if I’m doing the right thing? No man can sit in my court handing out sentences of death without giving in to some doubts. I may have hanged some innocent men. The system isn’t perfect, but it’s all we have. Can you imagine what this territory would be like if we didn’t do our jobs?”

  “It would be bad,” Ty admitted. “And I know your job is the hardest. None of us have to wonder about what we do—but I know you are a man of conscience, so you have to have had thoughts of what your life means.”

  Judge Isaac Parker whispered as if to himself, “I think a lot about that, Ty—more than people think.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Raina looked up at her father and thought how wonderful it was that she had a family, at least a father who loved her. She thought of how he had asked her once, “What do you really want, daughter?” And she had replied, “A place and a family.” She had asked him then what he wanted, and he had simply said, “To serve God and to start a church.”

  Raina brought her mare, Daisy, out past the porch, and she heard her father call out, “Where you going, daughter?”

  “Oh, just going to visit the herders and see that no more sheep have been killed.”

  “Well, you be careful. There’s some bad men around here.”

  “I’m always careful, Pa. You know that.” She waved at him and then kicked Daisy in the side. The mare started up at once at a slow trot. She was a good horse, obedient to command, and Raina had become quite attached to her.

  Thirty minutes later she drew up to Benat. She talked to him for a while and then asked, “Where’s Mikel and Yosu?”

  “They’re over there to the west, but you be careful.”

  “Everybody warns me to be careful. I will be.”

  She rode away with no real goal in mind except simply getting out. For the next hour she rode aimlessly, seeing nothing but coyotes and far off to the left
a group of buzzards circling. Something died, she thought and had no desire to see what it was.

  She turned Daisy around, and as she did something caught her eye over to the right. “Whoa, Daisy.” She fixed her eyes on where she thought she had seen the movement and saw another. “What could that be?” she muttered and rode in that direction at a slow walk.

  Suddenly she stopped, for she saw that it was a man. He was on foot, but even as he walked, he stumbled and went down. That man looks hurt, she thought and immediately kicked Daisy into a gallop. She got to the man and saw that his face was sunburned and his lips were roughly burned also.

  She stepped off Daisy, tied her to a bush, and went to him, carrying a canteen. He’s dressed oddly, she thought, not like a cowboy or a sheepherder at all. His skin was so fair that he had burned terribly. She could see that he had blond hair. She could also see that he was practically dying. She removed the cap from the canteen, lifted his head, and put it to his lips.

  At first he didn’t move, but then he began eagerly gulping.

  “Just a little bit at a time,” she said and removed the canteen. His eyes opened, and she saw that they were an azure blue, a color she had rarely seen. She wanted to ask him questions about what he was doing out here without a horse or anything, but she knew he would not be able to answer. She sat beside him and from time to time propped him up.

  Finally after half an hour and many short sips of water, he gasped, “Thanks, miss.”

  “What are you doing way out here without a horse?”

  The man licked his lips and asked for another drink. When he got it, he sat up feebly. “Well, I was out just taking a ride, and I was robbed and set afoot by two men.”

  Instantly Raina noticed that he had an accent that she did not recognize. It wasn’t Spanish—she would have known that. “You can’t stay out here. You’re already burned. If I help you, can you get on my horse?”

  “I’ll try.”

  “She’s very gentle.” She helped him up.

  He staggered over, holding on to her, and got to where Daisy was.

  Raina had to put his foot in the stirrup and then shove him until he could throw the other leg over. She removed his foot, mounted behind him, and said, “Okay, Daisy, let’s go home.”

  It took a long time for them to make the trip, but by giving him small sips of water, she found out more about him. “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “George Fairfax.”

  “You’re not from around here, are you?”

  “No, not at all. I’m a stranger in this part of the world.”

  “You’ve got an odd accent. Where are you from?”

  “England. Could I have some more of that water?”

  She pulled off her handkerchief, wet it down, and said, “Keep this on your face, but take a little water first.”

  It was all the man could do to stay in the saddle, and Raina was relieved when she saw the house in the distance. “We’re almost home, Mr. Fairfax.”

  He nodded but did not speak.

  As she rode up to the house, her father came out. “What have you found, daughter?”

  “This man was out without a horse. He’s been robbed.”

  “Well, I expect we’d better get him in the house. He looks like he’s got sunstroke. What’s your name, mister?”

  “George Fairfax.”

  Pa helped the man down, and Fairfax clung to him and to Raina as they helped him up the steps, led him through the door, and got him to a bedroom. He plopped down on the bed and said in a cracked voice, “Thanks.”

  “How in the world did you get afoot in the desert?”

  “Well, I wanted to see the country, so I bought a horse and rode through it.”

  “Well, that was a bad idea,” Pa said. “You could have gotten killed. There are men who do that.”

  “Well, they took everything I had. What’s your name, sir?”

  “Eddie Vernay. This is my daughter, Raina.”

  Fairfax smiled with some difficulty. “Well, you two saved my life, so according to an old Irish folktale, I belong to you.”

  Raina thought that was odd. “It’s not like that. We don’t belong to each other. Are you hungry?”

  “I think I am.”

  “Pa, you give him some small sips of this water. Nothing big. I’ll go fix something light.”

  Pa stayed with him until Raina came back. She had a bowl and said, “Can you sit up to eat this?”

  “Oh yes. I think so.” Fairfax pushed himself up to a sitting position.

  She sat down beside him and handed him the bowl. “Can you feed yourself?”

  “Yes, I think I can. I haven’t had anything to eat in two days now.”

  “Well, this is just some light chicken broth. You take in little bits, and later on you’ll be able to take on something more steady.”

  He ate the bowl of broth, and she took it, saying, “That’s enough now. Is there anybody we can get in touch with and tell them you’re not dead?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “You’re kind of a miracle, Mr. Fairfax. You could have died out there. Been killed by outlaws or Indians or even got snake bit,” Pa said.

  “Yes sir, I see that now.”

  “Do you know the Lord, Mr. Fairfax?”

  Fairfax smiled slowly and nodded slightly. “Yes, in a way.”

  Raina was intrigued by the man. He was tall and lanky, with a handsome face and fair hair, and she knew that when the skin peeled he would have a smooth complexion. She asked, “Why did you come here, Mr. Fairfax? Not many people come to the Indian Territory.”

  “Oh, I inherited some money, and I was pretty tired of England, so I traveled. I went to Africa for a while and then to Australia. While I was in Australia, I read about this place and I thought I might find some adventure here.”

  “Well, you did that.” Pa laughed. “You nearly found too much.”

  “Could I have some more of that soup?”

  She got him a little more. After he finished his second bowl, he fell asleep.

  Raina looked at her dad. “It’s strange, isn’t it, that a man would strike out in a place like this by himself.”

  “I guess it’s not much like England.”

  For two days Fairfax rested up, and finally he said, “I believe if you had a buggy of some sort, I could go to town and get myself pulled together.”

  “We’ve got a buggy. Raina, you drive him in, will you?”

  “I will, Pa.”

  Raina saw that the Englishman moved much more easily, but his face was peeling, so she insisted he keep out of the sun and furnished him with a broad-brimmed hat that someone had left at the house.

  “What do you need to do when we get to Fort Smith?”

  “Well,” Fairfax said, “my skin’s tight, and it feels like it’s going to fall off. But anyway I need to go to the bank and get some funds.”

  “You have an account there?”

  “Yes, I had a rather large sum of money transferred to the bank there.”

  They arrived at Fort Smith and went at once to the bank.

  Mr. Jenson, the banker, was surprised. “Why, Mr. Fairfax, I didn’t expect to see you in this shape.”

  “I know. I look pretty bad. I got robbed and laid out in the desert. This lady found me, or I would have been dead.”

  “Well, here’s the money. Of course you have a large balance here, as much as you need, but I wouldn’t carry large sums if I were you. Not in Fort Smith.”

  “I believe you’re right, sir. Come along, Miss Raina. I need to buy some decent clothes.”

  They left the bank, and Raina said, “Oh, there’s one of the marshals. Ty, would you come here, please?”

  Kincaid had been walking the other way, but hearing her call, he changed direction and hurried to her. He ran his eyes up and down the tall man with her.

  She said, “This is George Fairfax. Mr. Fairfax, this is one of Judge Parker’s marshals, Tyler Kincaid. A good friend o
f mine.”

  “You look the worse for wear, Mr. Fairfax.”

  “I really am. I would have been dead by this time if this young lady hadn’t found me.”

  “What happened?” Ty listened as the man told about how he was robbed. “Can you describe the men who did it?”

  “Well, not too well, but they took what I had and knocked me over the head and left me to die.”

  Ty said, “Well, there’s any number of men that’ll do that for you in this territory. Give me the description you got.”

  Ty listened as George gave very brief descriptions and shook his head. “There’s not much chance of getting your horse and your money back.”

  “Well, that doesn’t matter,” Fairfax said. “I’ll just be more careful how I hang on to things.” He turned and said, “Miss Raina, would you have a meal with me after I get some decent clothes?”

  “Yes, I’ll even go shopping with you.”

  “I never had a lady pick out my clothes—-except my mother when I was young.”

  “Come around and meet the judge when you get presentable,” Ty said. “He’ll want to hear about this.”

  “Yes, I’ll do that.”

  For the next hour they picked what clothes Fairfax approved of, which weren’t many. “I really will have to order some clothes from somewhere else.”

  “I don’t think you can get anything better in this part of the country,” Raina said.

  “Well, let’s get something to eat. Where’s the best restaurant?”

  Raina said, “The hotel’s nice.”

  As the two walked along the street, she was aware that Fairfax attracted glances. He had bought an unusual hat, more like a derby than anything else, and with his height and sunburned face, she saw that he was the object of everyone’s attention.

  They had a good supper, and afterward she said, “You’d better find you a room and lie down.”

  “Well, I’ve got to find a barbershop first. I need a bath.”

  “You can get that at the hotel. They’ll bring your hot water up, I’m sure.”

  “Miss Raina”—Fairfax turned and reached out, taking her hand and holding it with both of his—“I’ve never had to thank anybody for saving my life before, so I’m not very good at it, but I thank you.”