‘Joe,’ he whispered, ‘is that you?’
He had taken over from Joe on lookout duty late into the night. They had decided to spare Jessica her turn as she had been looking after Frank with such diligence. He groped for his rifle not finding it in the dark.
They came into the cave at a rush. Butch had been sitting propped against the wall of the cave. Not seeing him in the dark the first man tripped over his outstretched legs. There was a muffled curse.
Butch’s hand at last closed over the rifle stock. He swung hard, still not able to see what he was lashing out at. There was a yell as the rifle jarred in his hand against something solid. A gun boomed from the cave mouth just a few feet from Butch.
The bullet smacked into the rock face beside him and ricocheted inside. He heard the whine as it passed overhead. By now he had his rifle aimed at the muzzle flash and he pulled the trigger. The heavier boom of the rifle echoed loudly inside the cave. There was another cry in the night and the shadowy figure in the entrance disappeared.
This heralded a flurry of shots and bullets rained inside striking against the rock face and ricocheting like angry hornets in the dark. Butch flung himself prone and poked his rifle outside. He let off a few shots. His actions only seemed to increase the barrage of shots from the attackers. He felt a hand on his ankle and rolled around to meet this new danger.
‘It’s me, dang you!’ Joe yelled, seeing his partner swing his rifle towards him.
The big man wriggled forward till he was beside Butch. Angling his shotgun in the direction of the path he let fly with one barrel. The intensity of the shooting from outside slackened off somewhat. Joe waited a moment then changed the angle of his deadly weapon. His second shot brought a scream and the firing ceased abruptly. There was the clatter of boots as the attackers fled back down the path. They heard someone cry out as he tripped and tumbled down the path. Joe quickly reloaded.
‘Butch, you all right?’
‘Sure, Joe, just a bit shaken. There should be one of them inside here. I clouted him with my rifle.’
As if to confirm his statement they heard someone groan.
‘Keep a lookout while I find out who this fella is.’
‘Help me… I’m shot. Is that you, Tim?’
‘No it ain’t Tim,’ Butch answered. ‘Where you hit?’
‘Oh, Gawd, it hurts so. Help me…’
Butch was kneeling beside the wounded man. As he lent over he heard the distinct click of a hammer coming back.
‘Shit!’
He rolled to one side and kicked out viscously with his feet. The man’s revolver went off and the flash blinded the cowboy as he frantically tried to bring his own rifle to bear. Then Butch went deaf as the shotgun went off behind him. He felt the heat of the blast as the densely packed shot gusted past him. There was the sickly thud of lead smashing into flesh and Butch felt a wetness splatter over his face and clothing.
‘Goddamn it! Goddamn it to hell!’ he yelled, as he pawed frantically at his face.
There was no way to see in the dark, but he guessed the man’s head was splattered over the cave as well as spurting over him. He could smell the blood with the cordite mixed in.
‘Butch, Butch, you OK?’
‘Goddamn you to hell, Joe Peters! Why’d you have to do that?’ Butch yelled. ‘I had him covered.’
But Butch knew he had come near to falling for the man’s trick. Only for his partner’s quick actions it could well have been him lying dead now on the floor of the cave instead of the intruder.
‘Don’t do that again!’ he bellowed, the fright of the near miss making him lash out at Joe.
Joe found himself yelling back.
‘All right then!’
The near miss had frightened him as well as his partner.
‘Next time I’ll let them blast out what little brains you got in that thick skull of yours.’
‘Keep a lookout,’ Butch snarled. ‘They might want to rush us again.’
‘I suppose you fell asleep,’ Joe retorted, turning back to the cave entrance and peering cautiously outside.
Nothing moved in the darkness. Below he could see the campfire blazing as someone threw fresh fuel into it. He could hear Butch cursing under his breath as he moved up beside him.
‘I guess I made a mess of the fella back there,’ Joe said after a long silence.
‘I guess,’ came Butch’s reply.
‘This place stinks of blood.’
It was too dark for Joe to see the look the cowboy threw at him.
25.
The men filed into the house and Geraint ushered them down the corridor. They were the men who had been brought in from the old Corley place. They were the very same men who had stained the walls of Empire Fastness Way Station with blood.
Jabez, the mean looking elder of the group came first. Behind him came Marcus, bearded with a ponytail. Charlie, the young blonde one, who had sparked up to the half-breed girl at the way station. Dave, tall youthful moving with an easy grace - and last came Eli mean and brooding - men with cruel natures and a grudge against the world.
Crossed gun belts held Navy Colts. Each possessed a razor sharp sheath knife. They made a formidable gang of villains. The sort of men that inclined ordinary folk to go indoors and cower in hiding till the wolves had moved on.
‘That’ll be all, Geraint. I’ll call you when I need you.’
The big black man backed out of the room. Once the door closed behind him, the men dispersed around the room perching on chairs and couches. They looked indolent and at ease as they settled.
Miller grabbed up a carved rosewood box and walked round the room dispensing fat cigars to his visitors. He returned to his desk, a large polished mahogany edifice and placed the cigar box on top.
‘Drink anyone?’
Without waiting for a reply he poured generous measures of bourbon from a decanter.
‘Help yourselves,’ he invited, indicating the brimming tumblers.
There was a general shift of bodies around the room as the gang came forward and grabbed the drinks. Gradually the room settled down as the men lit up and sipped their bourbon. Miller fixed his eyes on the old man, Jabez.
‘Did you stop at a farm on the way back from that way station?’ he asked.
Jabez stared evenly back at Miller.
‘What if we did?’
‘Seems like someone rode into that farm and murdered the couple as owned it. Problem is there was a witness. Their daughter saw the whole thing and can identify the killers.’
There was a general shift around the room as the group took in this information.
‘Three fellas rode in yesterday with that girl. They were making inquiries about you. They reckon they tracked you from Empire Fastness Way Station. I had them penned up in the jail but they bust loose. Sheriff’s out there now searching for them. I ain’t got much faith in that bunch of dimwits. It would take someone with your kind of skills for this job. Those fellas could make an awful lot of trouble for us. They need to be taken care of – permanently – along with that girl.’
‘That shouldn’t be a problem. What direction did they go?’
‘Out towards the buttes past the mine workings. The posse already had a run in with them. They sent back three wounded men this morning said they have those fellas holed up in some caves. They can’t get at them. Sheriff wants me to send him food and more men. They reckon to starve them out.’
‘Mr Miller, we’ll take care of it,’ Jabez intoned.
He tossed off the last of the bourbon and stood. There was a scrambling of boots as his men did likewise.
‘How’s my wife bearing up?’ Miller asked, as he stood up also.
‘She sends you a message. Says as she’s sorry she ran off with that banker man and wants to come back home.’
‘What do you think, Jabez?’
Miller leaned forward his hands resting on the large wooden desk.
‘Do you think she’s truly contrite?’
‘Like I told you afore, when we caught up with her on that stage we gutted that fella she ran away with like you would a fish. She didn’t take much to that and fainted on us. We had to wait for her to come around afore completing the sonabitch initiation of blood. She’s had time to reflect on that.’
The mean looking older man drew hard on the cigar sucking in his cheeks so he looked more like a living skull than ever.
‘I guess she’s learnt her lesson.’
‘What about the girl you brought along with her?’
‘Ah, that’s a different skillet of beans.’
The outlaw leader blew a plume of smoke.
‘I fear she is much abused. Your wife pleads for her but my boys don’t take much heed.’
‘OK Jabez, when all this is over you can send, Mrs Miller back home. What you do with the girl is your business.’
The men stalked from the room trailing cigar smoke and taking with them a sense of something malevolent.
*
‘Joe.’
The big man turned as he heard Jessica call his name. Leaving Butch to keep watch he went back down the cave.
‘What is it?’
‘It’s Frank, he looks real bad. I don’t know much about these things but I’m afraid for him.’
Joe knelt beside the old man. Instead of his usual dark suntan Frank looked so pale he was almost luminous. Joe felt his neck for a pulse and located a feeble indication of life.
‘He needs a doctor, otherwise he’ll never last.’
Joe bent his head in an attitude of despair.
‘I’d better consult with Butch.’
Back at the entrance to the cave Joe squatted down beside Butch.
‘What is it?’
‘Frank ain’t gonna survive without a doctor.’
‘Poor old boy, what we gonna do?’
‘Butch, we gotta give ourselves up. It’s the only way we gonna get help for Frank.’
Both men were silent as they gazed down at the posse. A huge fire had been built up. Men sat around smoking and drinking coffee.
‘They’ll stay there forever till we give up. They can send back to town for fresh men and supplies.’
As if to confirm this a bunch of riders could be seen coming out of the trees and heading towards the camp. There were five men in the group. None of them dismounted when they reached the camp. It was obvious there was some debate going on.
‘You know they’ll hang us, Joe.’
Joe looked down at his big capable hands. Hands that were more used to handling saws and planes and chisels than the killing tools he had been forced to use ever since that fateful card game in Hinkly when he had accidentally slain the cardsharp.
‘You think I don’t know that.’
‘What about, Jessica? That Miller fella will want her killed as well to shut her from blabbing about him and his links to those killers as murdered her ma and pa.’
They were silent for a moment as they thought out the consequences of handing themselves over to the posse.
‘If we leave her up here in the cave – pretend she weren’t with us, maybe she could sneak away when we’ve gone.’
‘You know they could be riled up enough to lynch us outa hand.’
‘We gotta take that chance. It’s that or Frank is gonna die for sure.’
The two men stared into each other’s eyes, probing for a sigh of weakness or indecision. On sudden impulse they reached towards each other and grasped hands.
‘It’s been good knowing you, Butch.’
‘Joe, for a dude from back East, I reckon you’ll do to ride the trail with.’
Which was high praise indeed from the cowboy.
26.
Using the blanket as a makeshift stretcher the two friends shuffled down the precarious rocky path. At the bottom of the hill an arsenal of guns were trained on the stretcher-bearers.
‘Hell,’ muttered Butch, ‘if those galoots start shooting there won’t be enough of us left for to gather up for a decent burial.’
‘Well, at least it’ll be quick. Not like poor Frank here.’
Under the ominous threat of the guns they continued their descent.
Using a white flag made from one of the cloths filched from Miller’s kitchen they had negotiated a deal with the posse. They had left their weapons in the cave with Jessica. She had strict instructions from the two wanted men to keep herself hidden from the posse.
‘We’ll tell them you stayed behind in Coventree with some friends. They ain’t to know any difference. But keep a sharp lookout. If anybody starts up towards the cave to look for you, start shooting. We know you can fire a rifle. Miller and his owlhoot friends want you dead. As soon as the coast is clear you light outa here. Go to the nearest big town and tell your story to the authorities there. With a bit of luck you might even be in time to save our necks.’
‘What are you saying; you think they’ll hang you?’
‘Nah, it’s just a way of speaking. They’ll sling us in jail and there’ll have to be some sort of trial. In the meantime it’ll be your job to keep safe and bring the cavalry to our rescue.’
It had taken all the persuasive powers of both Joe and Butch to coerce the young girl into complying with their instructions. She had finally agreed to do as they wanted.
When they left, carrying Frank, she had lain flat inside the cave holding her rifle and the men’s discarded weapons lined up beside her. Inching forward she peered down at the armed reception committee awaiting the arrival of the two men and their wounded companion.
It was no easy task navigating the path while holding the ends of the blanket laden with the dead weight of the badly wounded Frank but at last the two friends arrived at the bottom.
‘Don’t make any sudden moves and keep hold of that blanket.’
The sheriff was a tall spare man with a drooping moustache. Keeping his carbine on the fugitives he moved closer and looked down at the man in the blanket.
‘Hmm… he does look in a bad way. Okay bring him over here to the fire. We got a wagon headed out this way bringing supplies for us we can use to take your friend to town.’
A gaunt oldster with hard, staring eyes stepped forward. He held a Colt .44 casually pointed at the captives.
‘That’s all right, sheriff, we’ll take over now. You take your men on back to town. You’ve done enough.’
‘What the hell you mean! These are my prisoners and I’ll take charge of them.’
Those mean eyes turned fully on the lawman. The sheriff quailed as he tried to meet the cold-eyed stare.
‘Sheriff, the last time you had these men behind bars they walked. I aim to see they get safe to jail. They won’t escape from me.’
‘Damn you,’ the sheriff blustered. ‘I’m in charge here.’
To the lawman’s discomfiture the nozzle of the big Colt turned in his direction.
‘Mister Miller ain’t going to be too pleased if these fellas escape justice for a second time. He specifically asked me to personally escort the prisoners to town to stand trial.’
For a second only the sheriff glared his displeasure but he could not hold out against those fixed cold eyes.
‘It ain’t right,’ he mumbled. ‘I’m the official law around here. It’s my responsibility…’
A youngster moved up to the sheriff. He took out a large Bowie and not saying anything he began to pick at the lawman’s shirt with the point.
‘What the hell…!’
The sheriff stepped back from that deadly looking blade. The youngster smiled at the sheriff. He was shorter than the lawman. As if to make up for his stunted height he had broad powerful shoulders.
‘I never stuck no lawman afore,’ he said affably. ‘Stuck me hogs and fellas as I had argument with, but no lawmen.’
The sheriff got an impression he was dealing with someone deranged.
‘This is most irregular,’ he spluttered. ‘You men have no authority.’
‘Just you ride
into town and tell Mr Miller he has no authority to appoint us fellas to bring in these owlhoots. If he takes your side we’ll gladly hand them over. Now you and your deputies ride the hell outa here.’
The sheriff glared round him. And suddenly he noticed the five men who had ridden in to join the posse were spread around so they had every one of the sheriff’s men under a gun.
‘We’re taking these men into jail, sheriff.’
As he spoke the gaunt man was alternatively looking down at his Colt and then up at the sheriff.
‘One way or another we’re taking these men.’
There was no mistaking the menace in the man’s eyes and voice. The sheriff recoiled.
‘I… I’ll ride in and ask Mr Miller myself. It doesn’t seem right.’
‘That’s right, sheriff, you do that.’
While this bizarre exchange was going on Butch and Joe gently lowered the blanket with the wounded Frank. The movement drew everyone’s attention back to them and a forest of gun barrels once more moved to cover them.
‘Marcus, Dave, both of you keep these two covered,’ rasped out Jabez.
The tall youngster and the one with the ponytail dangling from under his hat moved up towards Joe and Butch.
‘What about Frank here?’ Joe asked ‘He’s the reason we come down here. He needs a doctor urgent.’
‘Shut up!’
As he spoke Dave lashed out with his Colt taking Joe across the side of the head. The big man was not expecting the attack and staggered back.
‘Damn you!’ Joe yelled.
He launched himself at his attacker but a sudden shot from Dave’s gun hit him in the arm and knocked him sideways. Joe swayed somewhat as he stared at the youngster. He grabbed at his wounded arm and a spasm of pain crossed his face.
Butch had tensed ready to come to Joe’s aid but the unexpected shot brought a halt to any action on his part. With so many guns trained on them they stood no chance if they attacked the bunch of armed men.
‘You see, sheriff, what desperados we have here,’ Jabez drawled. ‘Now you just ride on into town and tell Mr Miller we bringing these fellas in.’
‘I… I guess so,’ the sheriff said shakily. ‘Come on fellas.’
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