The other rider, with a cocky look, pushed his poncho back from his head exposing his bushy yellow hair, and said with a sneer, “Hi, Edie, who’s your companion?”
“He’s a friend who has come from back east to help me solve some problems. We’ve come to talk to your boss.”
“What’s your friend’s name? I like to know who I’m taking to see the boss.”
It was obvious to Dan that the man doing the talking considered himself a worthy suitor for Edie, and he didn’t like competition. He was a man with whom few men could compete physically. He was tall, blond, and well built. He pushed the folds of his poncho aside showing a fancy six-shooter in a fancy holster. Dan wasn’t looking for a fight; he just wanted to talk to the owner of the ranch, so he introduced himself.
“My name is Daniel Duncan. My friends call me Dan. May we pass?”
“No, you may not,” the tall man replied.
“Dan, this is Basel Haliford,” Edie said quietly, “the man who visited me at my ranch.”
“Well, Basel Haliford, your stance and your manner indicate that you’re looking for a fight. If it’s a quick-draw contest you’re looking for, perhaps another time, but for now take us to see your boss. If he says he wants you to throw us off his ranch, then do your job, but in the meantime step
aside.”
“Get off that wagon,” Basel Haliford commanded. “I’ll drive those horses. I think Edie deserves better company.”
“If Edie wants your company, I will do as you say, but until she tells me to get off the wagon, it isn’t going to happen. Now ride ahead or get out of the way.”
“Stranger, you sound confident. Can you back it up?” Basil asked.
“I have good reason to be confident, and you should bear that in mind. I’m not here to kill you, but if that’s what it takes, I can, and I will do the job. Now, for the last time, lead us to your boss, or get out of the way.”
“He’s good with his gun, Dan,” Edie whispered. “He’s killed several men; maybe you should do as he says.”
“Is that what you want me to do, Edie?”
“No! He’s a threat to me too, but I don’t want to see you get killed. He’s dangerously aggressive, he’s mean, and he’s one of the men that made me cautious of all men.”
“Edie,” Dan commented, “this is the West, and if I back down to this vicious creature, no one will ever trust me again. If I’m going to help you, I’ve got to settle this here and now, so hold the reins while I do what I have to do.”
Venie started to cry. “Mommy, why is that bad man stopping us? Is he going to hurt you again?”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, Dan is with us.” Then turning to Dan she said, “I’m sorry I got you into this mess. Isn’t there another way?”
“Perhaps at another time there would be another way,” Dan replied, “but not today.”
Dan stepped on the hub of the wagon wheel as he got down and moved away from the wagon to prevent Edie and Venie from being in the line of fire. As he faced Basel, the short one who had first blocked the way was moving his horse trying to get behind Dan.
Without taking his eyes off Basel, Dan said to the man behind him, “Shorty, if you move that horse one more time before I tell you to, I’ll kill you. You got that?”
“I heard you,” the short, bear-like man replied as he stopped his horse and stiffened in his saddle.
“Get off that horse, Basel Haliford,” Dan commanded. “I don’t like to kill horses, and when your feet hit the ground, draw.”
For the first time in his life, Basel knew fear. All of the other men he had killed were just farmers or young cowboys, and they were afraid, but this man wasn’t afraid, and Dan’s confidence worried him.
Basel was looking for an advantage, so he started his draw before his foot touched the ground. Dan shot the gun out of his hand before he could clear leather. Basel’s arm went numb all the way to his shoulder. Dan walked over to Basel and slapped him in the face hard.
There is no greater insult to a gunman than to be slapped, and Basel had been slapped in front of the woman he wanted to impress. His face was red with rage, but he lacked the courage to respond.
“Get out of here while you can,” Dan demanded. “Degenerate cowards are back shooters, and for that reason, if I ever see you again, I’ll kill you.”
“Can I pick up my gun?” Basel whimpered.
“Yes, you can, but when your hand touches that gun I’ll put a bullet through your brain. Do you want it that badly?”
Without replying, Basel mounted and rode away at a full run.
“What about me,” Shorty asked, visibly shaken.
Dan picked up Basel’s gun and then said, “Tell your boss what happened, and tell him we’re coming.”
Venie looked at Dan and asked, “Is that bad man coming back? I hope not. He hurt Mommy.”
“Don’t worry, Venie, he won’t be back, and I won’t let him hurt your mommy ever again.” Then to Edie, he said; “Now I understand why you are reluctant to trust men. I don’t know what happened between you and that coward, but I can imagine. You don’t owe me an explanation, and I don’t expect one, but if you ever want to tell me what happened, I’ll listen.”
“Danny, you are one man in a million,” Edie said.
“I know you mean that as a compliment, Edie,” Dan replied, “but I don’t think so. There are thousands of men like me, and most of them want to protect women. The ones who mistreat women are the rare ones, and they betray both men and women by making women think that all men are bad.”
“I know you’re right, but women are vulnerable to men like that. We want to trust them, and when we find out that they are untrustworthy, they make us doubt all men. But Dan, we’ve got another problem.” With a frown, Edie said, “How do you think Ganus McClure is going to react to your running off one of his cowboys?”
“You said Ganus is a good man, and if he is, he’ll thank me for doing what he’s wanted to do for a long time.”
The rain had let up a bit, and when the wagon pulled up to the ranch house, Ganus was waiting on the porch.
His wife, Gail, saw Edie coming, and welcomed her into the living room, and then offered her a cup of coffee.
Ganus extended his hand to Dan. “Get down, stranger,” he said. “Come sit a while. Shorty told me what happened. I’m disappointed that you didn’t kill that gun-crazy coward. You may wish you had. He’s as mean as a wolverine, and he’ll shoot you in the back the first chance he gets. I should have fired him a long time ago, but frankly I’m not that good with a gun, and I was kind of afraid of him. You did me a favor. Thank you. Now, how can I help?” He was looking at Edie when he asked.
“I was hoping we could help one another,” Edie responded.
“How’s that?” Ganus queried as he cocked his head to one side.
Dan answered this time. “My name is Daniel Duncan. I’m here to help Edie. Rumor has it that the local sheriff works for the banker. Edie told me that her husband, Ed Calem, borrowed money from the bank. Since the banker wanted his ranch, he had the sheriff kill Ed. Now, that banker, with the sheriff’s help, is preventing Edie from paying off the mortgage, hoping that she will fail to pay on time. I could sell enough of Edie’s cows to pay her mortgage, but the banker isn’t obliged to accept money from me. However, if we have witnesses who will testify to seeing Edie trying to pay, the banker will have to accept it and thereby forfeit his claim to her ranch. Will you help?”
Before Ganus could reply, Gail grabbed Edie’s arm. “No, Edie,” she said, “I can’t let Ganus witness against the banker. The banker had the sheriff shoot your husband and I don’t want to lose mine.”
Edie didn’t know what to say because Gail was right, and her comment showed that they, too, owed money on their mortgage. Their ranch house was big, and at one time it had been lavishly furnished, but the house was in need of repair and the furniture was old.
Ganus shrugged. He glanced at Edie and asked, “What would yo
u have me do? I’m no gunfighter, and even if I were, getting into a shooting match with the sheriff would make me an outlaw. I also witnessed the sheriff shoot your husband, and I was unable to help.”
Dan stretched out his hand to the rancher. “I think you should listen to your wife. We’ll solve our own problems. You’ve been a big help by confirming my suspicions about the unholy alliance between the banker and the sheriff. I hope you’ll remember this conversation, if I ever get into a shooting scrape with the sheriff while trying to save Edie’s ranch. I’m also hoping that I don’t run into Basel Haliford again, because if I do, I’ll have to kill him. If something happens to me, Basel will call on Edie again, and I promised Venie that I would protect her mother. Venie thought he was going to harm her mother again when he stopped us.”
“I’ll remember,” Ganus said, “but I want you to know that I knew nothing about Basel calling on Edie, but I can imagine what that encounter must have been like.”
“It wasn’t pleasant, I can tell you that,” Edie shuddered.
“Edie, I’m sorry,” Gail said.
“There’s no reason for you to be sorry about Basel. You couldn’t have stopped him from forcing his way with me, and don’t be sorry about wanting to protect your husband—I would do the same.” Edie thanked them for their hospitality and returned to the wagon.
Dan handed Venie up to Edie and then climbed up beside her as he said to Ganus, I’m pleased to have met you, and I’m sorry about the scrape with your men.”
“I’m not a bit sorry,” Ganus replied, “and again I warn you; Basel is mean, and he will seek revenge.”
Chapter 5
The rain had passed and prairie flowers perfumed the air. When they got to the road that went east into town, they turned toward Edie’s ranch, and Dan noticed tracks of a horse going the same way. All other tracks had been erased by the rain, so these tracks were new and stood out plainly.
“Edie,” Dan said, “if those tracks mean what I think they mean, Basel Haliford is up ahead somewhere waiting to ambush me. I took his revolver, and I should have taken his rifle, too. That was careless of me. I don’t think Basel will shoot either you or Venie, but he might accidently hit you with a bullet meant for me. You and Venie could lie down in the wagon, but that might not be safe either. . . . I’ll get off here and walk ahead. If you hear shooting, stop and wait. I’ll come back when it’s over.”
“I’m afraid for you, Dan; Basel has killed a lot of men.”
“What do you suggest? We can’t wait here, and it wouldn’t be fair to take our troubles to Ganus; he's already said he was afraid of Basel.”
“We could wait until Basel gives up and leaves,” Edie suggested.
“What if he doesn’t leave? And even if he does, how will we know? And what’s to stop him from sniping us right where we are?”
“I suggest we ride on just the way we are,” Edie reconsidered. “We can all watch for him and when he shoots, you can jump out and take cover while Venie and I go on.”
“Okay. I can’t think of a better way, and I don’t think he wants to kill you, so we’ll try it that way, but be ready to skedaddle out of the way when you see me jump out of the wagon. You take the reins now while I get in the bed of the wagon.”
Just ahead, the road wandered through a narrow passageway between the hills. Edie had always been a little afraid to drive through these narrows, but today she was terrified, not so much for herself or Venie, but for Dan.
Venie didn’t understand what was happening, and she started to cry. Edie tried to console her. “Vanessa, don’t be afraid. Dan is here to protect us, but we need your help to look for the bad man we met on the road to the McClure Ranch. He may be hiding somewhere behind a bush or a boulder. He might even be lying in a gully. If you see him, tell me where he is so I can tell Dan.”
“He’s not going to hurt you again, is he?”
“No, Dan won’t let him hurt me, but the bad man has a gun, and he might try to hurt Dan.”
“I’ll watch good; I don’t want him to hurt Dan. I like Dan.”
There was no wind, so if a plant moved, something other than the wind moved it.
They were almost through the pass and nothing had happened. “Maybe the tracks were made by a cowboy looking for strays,” Edie said hopefully.
“Birds have been chirping all the way, but they are silent now,” Dan commented. Knowing that either a man or an animal was stirring, he said, “Watch closely—something is wrong.”
“Mommy, I saw someone run behind that bush beside that big rock over there. Do you think it could be the bad man?”
“Dan, she’s right!” Edie whispered. “I saw a light flash off something.”
“Yeah, I saw that, too. I’m jumping out, and when I hit the ground, you hit the horses with those reins and get out fast.”
A shot rang out just as Dan jumped, and a bullet splintered the side of the wagon right where he had been sitting. A fraction of a second later he would have been dead. . . . Venie had saved his life.
Another bullet ricocheted off the rock that Dan dove under. His eyes searched the area where Edie said she saw the flash of light, but nothing was showing.
Basel was stalking him. They were engaged in a deadly game, and Dan was the one being hunted. Like anything being hunted, Dan leaped from the cover of one rock to another until another shot rang out. He didn’t see where the shot came from, but he saw the trajectory of the bullet and knew the direction from which the shot had been fired. Either Basel had hunted animals a lot or he had hunted men before. At long range, the hunter with the rifle has the advantage, but if Dan could get closer that might make the difference.
Basel wouldn’t shoot more than once from the same spot. He would move, but in what direction? The cover was best to his right, and Dan took a chance that Basel would follow the best cover and moved to intercept him. The hunted had become the hunter.
Another bullet ricocheted off the rock that Dan was crouched behind, but it bounced off another rock about six feet away. Dan faked a moan that made it sound as though he had been hit. He moaned again but didn’t move. He was taking a chance and he knew it. A pebble rolled down from behind a large boulder, and Dan knew where his assailant was hiding, so he waited silently.
Basel was a coward, but he was no fool, so he, too, remained hidden.
A sound almost too soft to be heard was Dan’s only warning. Then he saw a rifle barrel swing into line with his head, and fired the shot that ended the deadly game.
When Edie heard Dan moan, her heart sank thinking Dan had been killed. She turned the wagon around and re-entered the narrow pass, urging the horses into a run . . . . If he were dead, then she and Venie were in danger, and she should hurry to the McClure Ranch. But if Dan were only wounded, he needed her help. She was trying to decide what to do when she saw Dan walking toward her.
“I’ll need the shovel,” he said, casually. “You and Venie stay here. This is nothing for you to see.”
About fifteen minutes later, he came back. “We can go home now,” he said, saying nothing more until they were in sight of the ranch house.
Edie couldn’t wait any longer. “What happened?” she asked. “I heard a rifle fired and heard you moan. I thought you were dead for sure.”
“Basel Haliford thought I was dead too, and it cost him dearly. He will never bother you again. I’ll report the incident to the proper authorities as soon as we get proper authorities to report it to. I’ll ride to the McClure Ranch tomorrow and tell Ganus what happened, and he’ll sleep easier. I’ll do the chores while you fix supper. I’m sorry we didn’t succeed in finding a way to force the banker to accept payment. But don’t worry, we’ll find a way.”
Edie carried Venie and walked slowly into the house. Edie’s posture reflected the strain of a stressful day.
Venie was trying to understand what had happened. “Did Dan make the bad man go away?”
“Yes, the bad man is gone now. He’s gone for sure this
time.”
Dan spoke softly, “Edie, I’m not hungry but a vegetable broth would be nice. This has been a long day. I can see that you’re tired, also. Venie saved my life today, and she’s all tuckered out, so put her to bed while I do the chores. I’ll be in with the milk and eggs in a few minutes. You and I need to talk—I won’t keep you up long, but we’ve got to find another way to pay your mortgage; I just want to share a couple of ideas with you.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Edie nodded.
Dan was troubled. He had eliminated a dangerous threat to Edie and Venie by putting Basel Haliford down, and he had met their neighbor, but other than that, he hadn’t accomplished much. He killed another man today, and that troubled him most of all. He would have to report the incident to the sheriff, and that would make him known to both the sheriff and the banker. He had hoped to work anonymously.
Edie was standing by the stove when Dan walked in. She had bathed and put on a clean dress, and the way her dress clung to her body made Dan want more than vegetable soup. He thought, Maybe I’d better not move too fast. Last night had convinced him that he should wait for her to come to him, but the aroma of vegetable soup reminded Dan of his childhood and gave him a warm feeling.
“Take a seat at the table, and I’ll pour the soup,” Edie spoke over her shoulder. When she turned, her smile was inviting, but it showed concern. She had something on her mind, and Dan wondered what it might be.
Edie served the soup, but she didn’t sit across the table as she had before. She sat right next to him and watched him out of the corner of her eye, but she still didn’t say anything, and Dan was becoming a little self-conscious. After finishing her soup, Edie leaned forward with an appeal for understanding.
“Dan, I owe you an explanation.”
Dan affectionately touched her forearm. “You don’t owe me anything, Edie. Everything I have done is what I wanted to do, but as I told you, if you want to get something off your mind, I’ll listen. I can imagine what happened when Basel came to see you, but you have nothing to explain.”
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