The Devil's Trail

by Robert J Conley

  I follered ole Clem Dawson over to the table where his two brothers was a-setting, and he interduced them by the names a Bo and Arny. We all shuck hands, and me and ole Clem set down. Clem grabbed the bottle by the neck and poured us drinks all around. I tuck mine up and sipped at it.

  “It’s good stuff,” I said. “I thank you.”

  We set there a-drinking and making small talk till way nigh onto supper time, and I was the leastest drunk a the bunch, on accounta I was just a sipping the whole time, and they was a-gulping. If they noticed, they never said nothing about it, but the reason I was a doing thataway was on accounta I sure didn’t wanta lose control a my faculties nor a my reflexes or nothing. After all, even though they didn’t likely have no idee, I was a-planning on prob’ly killing them three.

  “Hey,” Clem said, “let’s go over to the eating place and have us some steaks.”

  All three a them Dawsons stood up then, but I was still a-setting.

  “Come on, Kid,” Clem said. “It’s on me.”

  “All right,” I said, and I stood up to go with them, but I was a-thinking that he was a fixing to spend more a that damn bank money, and I sure didn’t like that. I wondered if maybe I might could take all three of them somewhere betwixt the saloon and the eating place. I wondered too where at ole Cherry might be. If he was to come outa the shadders somewhere along the way, why, me and him could sure take them, and we’d get it did before they was to spend any more a that cash. But we got on over to the eating place, and I never seed no sign a my pardner.

  We set down and ordered up some good steak dinners, and we was a-drinking coffee whilst we waited for them to be brung out to us. I was a-thinking about what the cost a them four meals was a-going to come to, and I was also a-thinking about what in the world ole Clem might have on his mind a-bringing me along with them the way he done.

  “Kid,” he said, like as if he was just about to go and answer the question what was inside a my head, “I never seen a faster draw than what you pulled back there.”

  “I had some practice,” I said.

  “I reckon,” he said. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Go right on ahead,” I said. “If I don’t like it, I won’t answer it.”

  “How come you didn’t go ahead and kill that son of a bitch?”

  “Didn’t need to,” I said. “I’d ruther a sent him crawling outa there in front a ever‘one. Hell, folks sees killings all the time. They don’t see what I done to him ever’day.”

  Clem laughed a little at that, and so did his brothers.

  “I reckon that’s true,” he said, and his brothers nodded their heads and said, “Yeah. That’s right.”

  “It did make a hell of a good show,” Clem said.

  Well, our steaks come out about then, and we all commenced to eating and cut out the talking. They was good steaks too, but only I was still a-thinking about how that there bank money was a-dwindling down in the Dawsons’ pockets. I didn’t enjoy my meal near as much as I had oughta. We finished up and slurped down another cup a coffee each, and then ole Clem, he looked at his brothers one after the other, and he said, “Well, boys, what do you say?”

  Bo and Arny looked each other in the eyeballs, and then Bo give a shrug, and then Arny said, “Yeah, Clem. I think so.”

  I give them all a sideways quizzical kinda look, and ole Clem, he grinned at me real big. “Let’s go on back over to the saloon,” he said. “This ain’t no good place to talk.”

  I follered them back to the saloon, and Clem picked out a table there what was well away from any might-belistening ears. He sent Bo to fetch a bottle and some glasses, and he kindly rared back in his chair a looking at me.

  “What the hell is this here all about?” I asked.

  “Just hold on a little bit,” Clem said. “I’m fixing to tell you.”

  Bo come back then with the bottle and glasses, and Clem poured drinks all around. My head was a-trying to add up them figgers, but it weren’t doing much good at it. Clem lifted up his glass and said, “To new friends.” His brothers lifted their glasses high, and just to be friendly, I lifted my own up but only not as high and not as enthusiastic as what they was. I was a mite too curious to show out enthusiastic. We all tuck us a drink after that, though. Then ole Clem, he looked around to make sure they weren’t no one a-listening, and then he leaned across the table some at me.

  “Kid,” he said, “how’d you like to throw in with us?”

  “You mean—like pardner up?” I said.

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t know,” I said. And then I lied to him just a little. “I like to go it alone.”

  “Four men’s better than three,” Clem said. “It’s sure better than one.”

  “That all depends on just what it is you got in mind to do,” I said. “I’m doing all right just my own self.”

  “You got plenty a money?” he asked me.

  “I got some,” I said.

  “The thing about money is it always runs out. There ain’t never enough of it.”

  “I do all right.”

  I could tell that I was some frustrating ole Clem at my playing hard-to-get, but I sure didn’t want him and his two brothers a-thinking that I was too anxious. He decided to take another direction in his next run at me.

  “You got any lawmen on your trail?” he asked me.

  “I’ve dodged a few,” I said, a-thinking at the time how clever I was a-answering him thataway and not telling no lie.

  “If a posse comes up on you,” he said, “the more company you got, the better off you are.”

  I couldn’t argue none with that. I just tuck me another sip a that whiskey.

  “Well,” Clem said, “what do you say?”

  “Just exact what is it that you have got in mind,” I asked him, “other than fighting off a posse?”

  Clem looked at his brothers, and they all grinned at each other. He looked back at me.

  “Banks,” he said.

  “Banks?”

  “Bank robbing.”

  “That there’s a risky business,” I said.

  “Not so much with four men,” said Clem. “And one of them as good with a gun as you are. Well?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I got money in my pockets, and you don’t seem to be hurting none. Why take a chance?”

  Clem sighed kindly heavy and glanced at his brothers again. Then he looked back at me. “Listen, Kid,” he said, “this town might not look like much, but there’s some big ranches around here, and hanging around the little time we been here, I happened to pick up on the news that there’s been a couple a big deposits made in the local bank. We could get rich enough to retire. Move to New York or Boston. Mexico City or Paris, even. Well, come on. What do you say?”

  “I don’t know nothing about them places you named,” I said, “but I don’t reckon I’d be knowed none too well in Houston, Texas, or El Paso. Maybe out in Californy.”

  Then I realized that I was almost a-thinking serious on what ole Clem was a-proposing to me, and I had to remind myself just what it was I was supposed to be up to.

  “You in, then?” Clem asked me.

  “I’m a-thinking on it,” I said. “Let me sleep on it. Let’s get together for breakfast in the morning and talk some more. Tell you the truth, I’m kindly tuckered out. I can’t hardly think straight tonight. If I get me a good night’s sleep, I’ll be all right in the morning for such thinking.”

  “All right,” Clem said. “We’ll meet for breakfast over at the eating place. We’ll talk it out there.”

  I excused myself then and left the saloon, but I thunk that I overheared ole Clem tell his brothers as I was a-walking away, “We got him, boys.”

  Whenever I got over to the rooming house where me and ole Dick Cherry had got us a room, I was glad to find Cherry in the room, and I was even more glad that he had tuck a bottle in there. I made him pour me a drink afore I went to telling him what had tuck place. Then I laid out the whol
e story for him about how ole Clem Dawson had come to me and had final made me that offer to join up with them and go to bank robbing.

  “They mean to take the bank right here in Snake Crick,” I said.

  “When?”

  “They ain’t said yet. We’re s’posed to talk some more in the morning. I ain’t even said I’d join up with them.”

  “Damn, Kid,” he said. “It’s perfect. With you right in the middle of them and me coming at them from the front, we could take them real easy.”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t like it.”

  “What’s wrong with it?”

  “What if something was to go wrong and the local law was to think that I was really with them Dawsons? I been a wanted man afore, and I don’t like it none.”

  “Tell you what,” Dick said. “You meet the Dawsons in the morning and agree to join them. I’ll go see the sheriff and tell him what’s going on. I’ll let him know that you’ve infiltrated the gang in order to help catch them. Then when you find out the exact plans, the time of the planned robbery, you let me know, and I’ll let the sheriff know. We’ll all be ready.”

  Well, I agreed, but I weren’t none too happy about it. I was putting a awful lot a trust in ole Cherry what I hadn’t really knowed all that long nor any too well. If it had a been ole Zeb or ole Churkee, why, I wouldn’t a never even hesitated none. But I just weren’t sure a Dick Cherry. Anyhow, I agreed and there weren’t no turning back from that. Well, I drunk me some more whiskey, and I never just sipped at it, neither, and then I final went on to bed, and I slept pretty good without no tossing nor turning. I was up early the next morning.

  I got myself dressed and walked on over to the eating place. It was so early that there weren’t hardly no folks in there yet. They sure weren’t no Dawsons. I was kindly hoping that they wouldn’t show up, but I ordered me up some coffee and told that there greasy-aproned feller that I was a-waiting on someone, and I would order up my breakfast whenever they showed up. I had me three cups a coffee afore they come in.

  “You get a good night’s sleep, Kid?” Clem asked me.

  “Pretty good,” I said.

  “You give any more thought to our proposition?”

  “I give it some.”

  “Well?”

  “I figger you’re the boss a this here outfit, Clem,” I said. “I been a-bossing my own self for too long. I don’t take too well to no ordering around.”

  “Hey, Kid,” Clem said, “the way you handle that gun, I never figured on ordering you around. Join up with us, and you’ll be an equal partner. I’ll tell you the plans I made, and if you don’t like them, we can talk them over. Make changes if we have to. You and me will agree on everything before we ever go into a job.”

  “I can’t think of no more objections,” I said. “Count me in.”

  We shuck all around on that, and just then ole greasy apron come over, and so we ordered us up a fine big breakfast a eggs and ham and biscuits and gravy and taters and such, and whenever it was final brung over to us, we all four commenced to eating like as if we hadn’t et in at least a week. Then we went and tuck us a ride outa town.

  Clem knowed where he was a-going, and he led the way to a little crick what I guessed was Snake Crick, and we all dismounted there by the water. Bo pulled a bottle outa his saddle bags and handed it to his big brother. Clem uncorked it and tuck a slug, then handed it to me. I had me a swaller and give the bottle over to Bo, and he drunk some and passed it along to Amy. The whole time we set there a-talking, we done thataway with that bottle.

  “Here’s how I figure it, Kid,” Clem said. “We’ll hit the bank first thing in the morning when it opens. There’s not too many customers in there that time a day. Maybe there won’t be any. We’ll have our horses all saddled and ready out in the street. Arny’ll stand ready with the horses. Bo will stay outside by the door a keeping watch. You and me will go inside. We’ll have us a couple a big sacks, and we’ll pull our guns and make the teller or the banker or whoever it is in there to fill them up with big bills. Then we’ll leave, jump on our horses and skedaddle outa town. Sound all right to you?”

  “It don’t sound bad,” I said. “What if someone comes up from outside and figgers out what’s a-going on?”

  “Then we might have to shoot our way outa town. It’s a chance you take.”

  “Yeah. Which way outa town we going? You have a place in mind to go to?”

  “I’m thinking about heading south,” Clem said. “We’ve been operating in these parts and moving east. Last bank we hit was over in Fosterville. You know the place?”

  “I’ve been there,” I said. “I think I heared about that bank job.”

  Bo grinned.

  “You heard about us, did you?” he said, and it was like as if he was real proud a that fact.

  “Yeah,” I said. Then I looked back at Clem. “South, huh? How far south?”

  “I been thinking about what you said, Kid. Houston, maybe, or El Paso.”

  “Think about this here,” I said. “What if we was to double back? Head right back for Fosterville? Wouldn’t no one be a-looking for you to do a fool thing like that. Then we could just keep a-going, right through Fosterville, and head on out to Californy. I’d kindly like to see that ocean out yonder.”

  “You can see ocean down at Houston, Kid,” Clem said.

  “Is that right?”

  “Sure. The Gulf a Mexico.”

  “Is it for sure ocean? Right offa Texas?”

  “For sure. I promise you.”

  “If I go all the way down to Houston with you,” I said, “and I don’t see no ocean, I’ll shoot your both damn ears off. You hear me? I’ve shot off ears before.”

  “I believe you, Kid, and I promise you, if we get to Houston, you’ll see ocean.”

  “Is there sand there where it laps up?”

  “Great big waves rolling up onto a sandy beach,” Clem said. “With all the money we’ll have, we could get us a real nice place right there on the beach and listen to those waves a-rolling up all day long and all night long, too.”

  “All right, by God,” I said. “We’ll go south. To Houston. Now, one more thing. When are we going to pull this job off and head for the ocean?”

  “First thing in the morning,” he said. “Soon as the bank opens.”

  “All right,” I said, “but let’s get out earlier than that so we can get us some breakfast. I don’t want to be riding out on a long trip like that without I’ve had me a good meal. There ain’t nothing worse than a long trail on a empty stomach.”

  “Agreed,” Clem said. “And right now, we’ll go on back into town, and we’ll do some shopping for everything we’ll need for that long ride. Trail food and such.”

  We all had us one more pull on that bottle, and then we mounted up and headed back into Snake Crick. Clem and his brothers went into the general store, and I told them that I had to go on to my room and pack up my stuff. I wanted to be all ready early the next morning. It was damn near noon by the time we come back from our ride, and I suggested to Clem that maybe I shouldn’t oughta be saw no more with him and his brothers till in the morning whenever we hit that bank. He agreed on that, and I was glad for it. I fetched a couple a steak dinners under towels and tuck them to the room. Dick was there a-waiting.

  He was sure glad to see that steak, and me and him tore into our meals. We hardly said a word till we was done, and then we washed it all down with a little whiskey, early in the day as it was. Final we set back and relaxed, and he asked me what all had tuck place. I asked him first if he had went to see the sheriff.

  “I did,” he said. “I told him that the Dawsons had recruited you to help them rob his bank. I showed him the wanted poster on them, and I told him that you had been trailing them since they robbed the bank at Fosterville. He knows your sheriff Chastain, and he got a little friendlier when I told him the whole story. He still doesn’t like bounty hunters, though. Anyhow, he decided that if you were
a member of Chastain’s posse who just didn’t want to quit, then you aren’t a real bounty hunter, so it’s all right. Now, what did you learn?”

  “We’re hitting the bank in the morning,” I said. “First thing when they open the door. You and that sheriff had best be ready, and you’d best be outa sight.”

  “Don’t worry,” Cherry said. “We’ll be ready and well hidden.”

  Chapter 6

  Well, sir, it were early the next morning when I went and met up with them Dawsons for a good, big breakfast. Like I had told them, you don’t wanta go robbing no bank and then heading for a place like Houston, Texas, way off to hell and gone like that with no empty belly. ‘Course, I didn’t really have no intention atall a heading for Houston nor no other place just that soon. My real intention was to make like I was a-going to help them rob the bank and then for actual help my new pard ole Dick Cherry and the sheriff a Snake Crick—what I never did know his name nor keer to—stop them Dawsons from the robbing. They could give it up and go to jail or we could kill them dead. It didn’t really make no never mind to me, but the point is that with a maybe fight a-coming up, ’special maybe some killing, well, I wanted to be well fed for that, too.

  We was a-setting in the eating place a-sipping on a last cup a coffee each when ole Clem Dawson, he looked me square in the eyes from acrost the table. “You ready for this, Kid?” he asked me.

  “Hell, yes,” I said. “I’m a-raring to go. What about the three a you?”

  “We’ve done it before,” Clem said. “We’re all ready.”

  “Well, don’t you go to worrying none about me,” I said. “Hell, I’ve tuck on a whole damn army before.”

  And that was might near the truth a the matter. ’Course, it were a army a outlaws, not a regular army in suits and all that, but they was a whole mess a the bastards. And, well, I did have me a little help that time, but not too damn much of it. You can believe me or not. I don’t give a shit, really.

  Clem pulled out a pocket watch, and I wondered who it was he had tuck it away from. He looked at it, and then he said, “It’s time, boys. Let’s go.”