Death of a Bad Man

by Ralph Compton

  ‘‘I remember.’’

  She nodded and handed him the wet cloth. When she looked over to Sol, her smile lost just a bit of its sparkle. ‘‘Don’t upset him,’’ was all she said before leaving the tent.

  Sol winced and pulled up one of the nearby stools. ‘‘What’d I do to her?’’ he asked.

  ‘‘Nothing. She’s just a bit anxious. You should have seen her pestering Doc Connors when he worked on my stitches. He went off to get a drink as soon as he was done rather than stay around here.’’ Still looking at the front of the tent as if the woman were standing in the doorway, Matt said, ‘‘Her name’s Patricia.’’

  ‘‘I think I may have seen her around the camp before.’’

  ‘‘Could be. She sells fancy suits and dresses from the back of that wagon.’’

  ‘‘I guess that would explain why I haven’t done more than seen her about,’’ Sol said. ‘‘It’s a wonder she makes any profit selling fancy clothes in a mining camp.’’

  ‘‘She’s a nice girl,’’ Matt insisted.

  Sol grinned and added, ‘‘A real sweet thing, huh?’’

  Matt blushed. It was an odd addition to his dirty face and tired eyes. ‘‘I suppose we have kind of taken a shine to each other. I just hope she doesn’t fuss this much about everyone who gets hurt around here.’’

  ‘‘Speaking of getting hurt, how serious is that?’’ Sol asked as he pointed toward Matt’s cotton casing.

  ‘‘Oh . . . uh . . . it’s just a cut. A real big cut, to be sure, but still just a cut. Doc Connors says the bullet just caught me as it passed on by. It sounds about right to me, but I don’t have a lot of experience in such things.’’

  ‘‘Good,’’ Sol said. ‘‘Then maybe you’ll be well enough to come with me when I track down the men who shot you.’’

  Matt stared blankly back at him for a few moments. Then he blinked, took a breath and blinked some more. Finally, Matt chuckled and then winced as he pressed a hand to his side. ‘‘I said I wasn’t experienced in such things as gunfights, Sol, not that I wanted to earn some experience in that area.’’

  ‘‘It shouldn’t be too hard. That is, if we don’t wait around too long. I saw which direction they were headed and there’s not much of anything out that way for miles. Hell, there’s barely anything around here in any direction. I’ve done some tracking and this sort of ground is perfect for—’’

  ‘‘What on earth are you talking about?’’ Matt asked.

  Now it was Sol’s turn to stare in disbelief. ‘‘What do you mean?’’ he asked. ‘‘Haven’t you been listening?’’

  ‘‘Yeah, and you sound like you’re going crazier by the moment. I mean . . .’’ Glancing toward the door and then shooting another glance toward the back of the tent, Matt lowered his voice as if the whole world were trying to listen in. ‘‘I mean, you’re talking about hunting down armed men?’’

  Sol nodded. ‘‘They barely got out of here when they tried to take on one ugly fool like Charlie. When we stood up to them, they ran away!’’

  ‘‘After they shot me!’’

  ‘‘It’s just a scratch, Matt.’’

  ‘‘Not so you’d know. You barely even asked how I got hurt.’’

  Settling onto his stool, Sol took a deep breath and placed his hands upon his knees. ‘‘Tell me what happened.’’

  After a few stuttering starts, Matt grimaced and shook his head. ‘‘I thought I had the drop on him, but the fellow turned and fired.’’

  ‘‘And then?’’

  ‘‘Then I fell down.’’

  ‘‘And then?’’ Sol asked patiently.

  Giving in with a tired sigh, Matt said, ‘‘And then he ran away.’’

  Sol nodded smugly. ‘‘How close was he?’’

  ‘‘Maybe a bit farther than you are to me.’’

  Standing up, Sol took a few steps back and then pointed a finger at Matt. ‘‘He was right about here, pulled his trigger and barely managed to scratch you.’’

  ‘‘It’s a pretty bad scratch,’’ Matt grumbled.

  ‘‘I think I may be able to kill you from here,’’ Sol said.

  ‘‘Is that supposed to make me feel better or worse?’’

  ‘‘It should make you feel like these gunmen were just as scared of us as we were of them. Probably more so,’’ Sol explained. ‘‘If I didn’t need to tend to you, we could probably have chased them down before they got too far away from camp.’’

  ‘‘Sorry to hear I weighed you down,’’ Matt chided.

  ‘‘You know what I’m trying to say. We can do this.’’

  ‘‘Why should we?’’

  ‘‘First of all, we’d be paid,’’ Sol pointed out.

  ‘‘Money don’t spend when you’re dead.’’ Matt shifted in his spot, but seemed to be more uncomfortable with the conversation than he was with his wound or the bandages wrapped around his torso. ‘‘This ain’t our job to do. We’re miners, not bounty hunters.’’

  ‘‘There’s a hundred dollars for us if we get this job done right. Seeing as how anxious Charlie was to get his property back, I’m sure he’d pay more if we play our cards right after the job’s done.’’

  ‘‘I almost got killed,’’ Matt whined. ‘‘If that man’s aim was a few inches different, I could have gotten a hell of a lot more than a scratch. What would you do even if you did find those men? Fight them? All three of them? They won’t be running away then. Have you thought about that? They’ll be out in the open and may even shoot us from our saddles if they see us coming.’’

  Sol was already shaking his head. ‘‘It won’t be like that. They were scared, Matt. I could tell. They’re not killers. They might have been out to steal some money, but they’re not real bad men.’’

  ‘‘How do you know that?’’

  Sol could feel his heart slamming against the inside of his ribs. He pulled each breath in through a quick gulp and gritted his teeth as if those breaths were threatening to escape. ‘‘I wouldn’t ask you to come along with me if I thought we couldn’t do this.’’

  ‘‘Have you ever even shot a man?’’

  ‘‘No,’’ Sol quickly replied. ‘‘But I could.’’

  And there it was.

  Sol could feel the air become a thick, uncomfortable stew. For the next few moments, both men stared back at each other in silence. Then Matt shifted his gaze toward the front of the tent.

  ‘‘I haven’t known you for long,’’ Matt said, ‘‘but I didn’t imagine you’d say something like that.’’

  Lacing his fingers together, Sol bowed his head and said, ‘‘You carry a gun just like I do. Just like nearly everyone in this camp does. You drew your gun when we went after those fellows running out of Charlie’s house. What did you expect to do once we got there?’’

  ‘‘I don’t know, Sol.’’

  ‘‘I’m not the only one who’s pulled a trigger,’’ Sol said as he got to his feet and turned his back to Matt. ‘‘I hear shots fired from the saloons around here every night.’’

  ‘‘Those are drunks or men getting into fights. That’s different.’’

  ‘‘How?’’

  ‘‘I don’t know,’’ Matt said in a voice that had suddenly become tired and heavy. ‘‘I don’t even want to think about shooting someone.’’

  ‘‘What if they hurt that pretty little thing you’ve suddenly taken a shine to?’’ Sol asked. ‘‘What would you do then?’’

  ‘‘I’d think of something, I guess,’’ Matt replied defensively. ‘‘But you’re just spouting off. You and I break apart rocks and sift dirt for a living and now you want to take your chances against outlaws? That’s crazy talk, Sol!’’

  Suddenly, Sol snapped forward like a rattler with its fangs bared. Matt recoiled as if that were exactly what he was facing.

  ‘‘I broke my back to earn my money and that fat pig sitting in that nice house seems content to let it ride away,’’ Sol hissed. ‘‘He’s probably got plenty of cash
somewhere else, but do you think he’ll give that to us or any of the other workers?’’

  ‘‘No,’’ Matt replied.

  ‘‘Maybe if we pull this job off, we can get into another line of work. There’s plenty of rewards posted for plenty of other men and they’re a whole lot more than a hundred dollars. Most of the fools on those posters are on the run after killing someone with a lucky shot. I’ve known of bad men and they put these idiots to shame. We’re not going after that sort, Matt. We’re going after robbers who can’t shoot straight.’’

  Matt shook his head slowly. ‘‘I . . . don’t want to take that chance. I just found this pretty little girl here and in some strange way it’s because of you. Thanks for that, Sol, but I ain’t about to make Patricia a widow after I just found her.’’

  ‘‘Widow? Don’t you have to marry her before she can be your widow?’’

  ‘‘I got a good feeling about her,’’ Matt replied with a twinkle in his eye. ‘‘You saw the way she looked at me.’’

  In fact, Sol didn’t have to think back to when the young woman had been looking at Matt. All Sol needed to do was turn and look outside the tent to find her keeping busy while also watching over the tent like a guardian angel. Turning back to Matt, Sol said, ‘‘She is pretty and she does seem to like you.’’

  ‘‘There’s plenty of ladies in camp, Sol. I know plenty of ’em’s been giving you the eye.’’

  ‘‘I suppose so.’’

  Matt let out a breath that he seemed to have been holding ever since Sol had walked into the tent. He winced and squirmed, but was soon able to get to his feet. Once he was standing, Matt walked over to the tent’s flap and waved to Patricia. ‘‘There’s plenty of silver to be had in those mines, Sol. If you were like the rest of us, you’d stuff a few of them little nuggets into your pockets while you’re working. Everybody does that every now and then. I think Charlie even knows about it.’’

  ‘‘I don’t see how he wouldn’t know,’’ Sol said with a laugh. ‘‘It’s not like you and them others are very swift about it.’’

  ‘‘I’m just saying that there’s plenty of ways to make money. You do it right and you may just wind up with a sweet little lady of your own and a house to go along with her.’’

  Even though Sol couldn’t miss the grin that had staked its claim upon Matt’s face, his own smile seemed to have melted away like the top of a frozen lake in the first weeks of spring. And, like that frozen layer of ice, Sol’s grin wasn’t so quick to return.

  ‘‘So,’’ Matt sighed, ‘‘are you going to join me for a drink? I’d like to give you and Patricia a proper introduction.’’

  Sol shook his head. ‘‘Nah. I don’t think she likes me very much.’’

  ‘‘That’s nonsense. I think she’s just scared because the last time she saw you, you had a smoking gun in your hand.’’

  ‘‘Could be.’’

  ‘‘She’ll change her mind when we all sit down over supper,’’ Matt said. ‘‘How about this Sunday?’’

  Sol nodded without putting much of anything behind it. ‘‘If I’m back by then.’’

  ‘‘What do you mean? Where are you going?’’

  ‘‘I told you where I’m going,’’ Sol replied.

  ‘‘Alone? You’re going after those killers alone?’’

  ‘‘Yes. I think I can manage it.’’

  Matt grunted and groaned as he picked up his shirt and stuck his arms through the sleeves. With all the fussing he was doing, he looked more like a boy wriggling into a freshly starched Sunday suit. ‘‘Fine. I’ll come with you.’’

  ‘‘No,’’ Sol said. ‘‘You won’t.’’ This time, he put enough steam into his words that they stopped Matt in his tracks.

  ‘‘But . . . you could get hurt,’’ Matt said. ‘‘Or worse.’’

  ‘‘I could get hurt in a silver mine.’’

  ‘‘It’s not gonna do you any good to go around and around like this, Sol.’’

  Nodding solemnly, Sol replied, ‘‘I know. That’s why I’ll take this job on my own and you can have supper with your new sweetheart. She seems very nice and I can tell she thinks the world of you.’’

  ‘‘Yeah . . . but . . . you could . . .’’ Despite all of Matt’s sputtering, he was unable to say much of anything else. Finally, he wound up shaking his head and grabbing hold of Sol by his shoulders. ‘‘I owe you everything. Those men might have killed me if you weren’t there.’’

  Sol laughed and shook his head. ‘‘You wouldn’t have been anywhere near those robbers if not for me. It’s best that I get going before I get you into any more trouble.’’

  ‘‘Are you sure you won’t—’’

  ‘‘Yes,’’ Sol interrupted. ‘‘I’m sure. Thanks anyway.’’

  There wasn’t much else to say after that. Sol shook Matt’s hand and left the tent. He passed Patricia along the way and showed her a small yet genuine smile.

  She smiled right back at him.

  Chapter 5

  During his time in Warren, Sol had grown accustomed to the winds that periodically ripped through town like a band of raiders. Anyone who’d lived there for more than a week needed to learn to live with those winds or be driven crazy by them. Sol had never cursed a simple thing like the wind until he’d decided to try and track down those three men who’d robbed Charlie.

  A few of the locals in town were more than willing to point in the direction they’d seen the robbers go after making their escape. There had been some tracks beaten into the ground by frantic hooves to lead Sol a bit farther, but there wasn’t much to see after that. The wind had wiped that slate clean like an unseen broom spreading all the sand perfectly over the ground until the terrain was as smooth as the bottom of a lake.

  Sol rode in circles for the better part of a day until he finally picked up on a set of tracks that were just big enough to have possibly been laid down by three men. Unfortunately, the tracks were headed toward Warren and not away from it. They could have been put there when the robbers were on their way to visit Charlie, but Sol was fairly certain they’d been left behind by someone else altogether. When he came to that conclusion, Sol entertained the notion of admitting defeat and heading back into town so he could take Matt up on his offer of supper with Patricia.

  After letting that thought slide around in his head for a few seconds, Sol knew that simply wasn’t going to happen.

  Matt was a good fellow and a good friend.

  Patricia seemed like a nice young woman and might warm up to him if given some time.

  The only problem was that Sol didn’t want to wait around for some woman to shuffle her feet until she decided to grace him with a favorable glance. In fact, Sol wasn’t about to vie for anyone else’s favor. He wasn’t about to fight for the chance to work in a mine and he wasn’t going to bleed just to put himself in the good graces of a man like Charlie. Sol had taken a job and he wanted to see it through. Riding on his own to track down these robbers may have been a few paces south of reasonable, but it just felt right.

  As soon as he thought that, Sol nodded solemnly.

  It felt right.

  He didn’t know if he was going to get himself killed along the way, but what he was doing now sure suited him more than swinging a pickax in the dark.

  Instinctively, Sol got his bearings and rode to a spot that would put him along the path he’d taken when he’d first left town. Warren was behind him and he was headed in the same direction the robbers had gone when they’d charged out with Charlie’s money. After all the talk he’d given to Matt about being able to find someone in such open terrain, Sol figured it was time to put that theory to work.

  Sol believed every word he’d said about the robbers being stupid and cowardly. It stood to reason that it shouldn’t be too difficult to track down a bunch of stupid cowards. After all, as long as a man knew what sort of animal he was hunting, it should be fairly easy to guess what it would do and where it would go.

  When he ha
dn’t caught sight of his prey or even a hint of where they might have gone, Sol began to think he’d bitten off a bit too much with this task. But there was no turning back. In his mind, the man he’d been when picking silver off the ground was dead and buried in that mine. He could always go back, but he knew he’d have to swallow enough of his self-respect to choke him for years to come.

  And, like a sign from some wayward angel, the abandoned campsite came into Sol’s view.

  When he saw it, he thought his eyes were deceiving him. There was no way he could seriously stumble upon something like that so easily. And there couldn’t be a chance that this spot was actually the one he’d been looking for. That would be akin to sticking his hand into a haystack and digging out that needle everyone had been talking so much about.

  Sol snapped his reins to close the distance between himself and that campsite even faster. The closer he got, the more he realized he hadn’t just stumbled upon the spot out of sheer happenstance. Smoke from the cooking fire still hung in the air like a faint smudge. Whoever had been responsible for putting out those flames hadn’t done a very good job, since there were still a few wisps of smoke curling up from a pile of wood that had been hastily stamped into a mess of splinters and ash.

  Although there wasn’t another soul in sight, Sol drew his gun as soon as he climbed down from his saddle. The remains of the campsite were a few paces in front of him and Sol took every step as though he was expecting to be attacked at any second.

  His eyes darted back and forth in search of any trace of movement.

  His gun hand remained at hip level and tensed in expectation of a fight.

  When he finally got close enough to smell the smoldering wood, Sol stopped and kept still just in case a trap was about to be sprung.

  The only thing that moved was the smoke that rose up from the broken sticks and was swept up into the air.

  Sol kept his gun in hand as he hunkered down to get a closer look at the ground surrounding the fire. Although he couldn’t be absolutely certain, there could have been three men at that camp. There were too many tracks for it to be just one or two, but there weren’t enough for that number to be much higher than that. They’d also been in a rush and had done a piss-poor job of cleaning up after themselves. All in all, they sounded like the very idiots Sol was looking for.