“Ace said there wasn’t anybody else with ’em,” Rance replied. “The one fellow on a horse is a wrangler that said his family owned the Triple-G over in East Texas. I talked to him the first day when I saw ’em cuttin’ across our range. His name’s Perley Gates. I reckon he just came along to drive those horses to wherever they’re headed. I don’t think he’ll give us any trouble.”
“Gates, you say?” Slocum asked. “The Triple-G is owned by the Gates family.” He paused momentarily to decide if that made any difference in what he planned to do. “No matter,” he decided. “I expect we’ll just have to tell him he’s fell in with a sorry crowd of Gypsies. You go ahead and get some fresh horses saddled and better take enough chuck for a day or two, just in case. We oughta catch those wagons by nightfall, if we can get away from here right away.” He walked Rance out to the kitchen door. “And Rance, find Brent and tell him I wanna see him. He’ll be in charge here till we get back.”
“Yes, sir, I expect he’s in the barn,” Rance said and went out the door.
CHAPTER 9
Brent Slocum, Zachary’s eldest son, was still in the barn, where Rance had seen him last. Rance had to go over the complete report he had just given Boss and received the same reaction of shock, as he had from his father, with one exception. Brent had not felt the bitterness his father had over the issue of Dan falling in love with the girl in Butcher Bottom. He had never told his father, but he had met the girl once when Dan had arranged for Emma to meet him at the river. Dan wanted him to meet her, so he could see she was a good person. Brent had agreed that she was a nice young woman. But he had also tried to convince Dan that their father would never allow him to marry a girl from Butcher Bottom. So, he had not really been surprised when Dan picked up the girl and took the trail north to Kansas Territory after their father had forbidden him to see Emma Wise. He knew nothing about the girl beyond what Dan had told him, but his attitude had always been that, if Dan thought she was the woman he wanted to live with, then maybe he would make it work. “So Papa said we’re goin’ after ’em?” Brent asked.
“Yup,” Rance replied. “Only, he said you were gonna stay here to keep the rest of the men workin’ up the herd. We’re already later than we had planned to start the drive and I think Boss is gettin’ kinda anxious to get started.”
Brent smiled. “He’s got it in his bones, I reckon, but we’ve got plenty of time. It’s still early summer.” He paused, then said, “So Papa’s finally got a grandson. I’m tickled to hear it, since he’s been hard on me for shootin’ blanks three times in a row.”
Rance grinned, but made no comment, well aware that Brent’s father was blaming him for that. “Well, anyway, Boss said to tell you he wants to see you, and I expect I’d better get ready to go after those two wagons.”
* * *
After breaking away from the Brazos, Possum turned his horses to a more southerly direction, and upon coming to a small creek approximately five miles farther, decided it to be the best place to rest the horses. Perley guided his little herd of horses downstream while the women prepared some coffee and bacon with Alice and Melva helping. “I declare,” Rachael commented, “if you’da told me two days ago that I was gonna be wearin’ my fanny out on a wagon seat, I’da told you, like hell I was.” She looked at her sister, feeding her baby. “I was just prayin’ for a miracle to get my family outta that little farm in Butcher Bottom, till I just gave up on it. And then one came along.” Emma smiled back at her, feeling more and more confident that she was doing the right thing with her money. “We’ll rustle up something a little bit better when we stop for supper tonight,” Rachael said to Possum when he came back from the creek. “I’ve got a couple of jars of beans soakin’, and we’ll make some pan biscuits to go with it.”
“Coffee and bacon suits me just fine,” Possum said. He was more concerned about finding his way to Bison Gap. He was banking heavily on his guess that the little settlement he had once visited on Oak Creek was the same one that had grown into Bison Gap. He seemed to be the only one of the party with concerns of any kind. Since the tensions that rose with the earlier meeting with two men from the Lazy-S were resolved with no real trouble, their spirits were high. As a result, the simple fare of coffee and bacon seemed like a picnic, especially to Rachael’s daughters. They both took the plates their mother handed them and sat down next to Perley, one on each side.
“Is that your real name?” Alice asked, unable to hold her curiosity any longer. “Pearly Gates, that’s in the Bible, ain’t it?”
Rachael started to correct her, but Perley interrupted her. “That’s a fact,” he said, “I was named for my grandpa. His name was Perley Gates, but it ain’t spelled like the Pearly Gates in the Bible.”
“Why is it spelled different?” Melva asked, equally as curious as her older sister.
“’Cause my great grandpa couldn’t spell too good,” Perley said.
“Well, I think it’s a good name,” Alice declared, “and I wanna know how to spell it right.” Perley took a stick and spelled his name out on the smooth sand of the creek bank, and Alice sounded out each letter as he wrote it.
“Girls, let the man eat in peace,” Rachael finally told them.
“It’s all right, ma’am,” Perley assured her. “It ain’t the first time I’ve had to explain my name to somebody.” Most of the time it’s somebody who’s fixing to whip my ass, he thought. It was nice that this was not one of those occasions. The rest stop remained just that, restful, which was sorely needed by the women especially. The time since leaving Butcher Bottom had been one of seemingly constant threats. But now, it appeared they were past the time when they had to be constantly worried, and the two sisters began to look forward to what might await them in Bison Gap.
After the horses were rested, they moved on, their navigation based mostly on the lay of the land, for they found no roads to guide them. The two wagons rumbled on across the lonely prairie, one of them leaving an odd-looking trail on one side, due to the crooked wheel. Relying on Possum’s sense of direction, the rest of the party figured they’d end up in the right place. As the light began to fade away with the setting of the sun, it looked as if they were going to have to make a dry camp for the night. Off to the side, the horse herd plodded along in the growing darkness at the pace set by the slow-moving wagons. Then, when Possum was about to give up and signal Perley, the horses started to increase their pace to a fast trot. Buck increased his pace as well, and Perley knew the horses sensed water ahead. He let them go and guided Buck over next to Emma’s wagon. “Drive on a little farther, Possum, there’s water up ahead, not too far.”
Sure enough, they drove across a low rise in the prairie less than a quarter of a mile ahead and found the horses drinking in the middle of a wide stream. If it had not gotten dark when it did, they would have seen the scruffy trees and bushes outlining the stream from a distance. They pulled the wagons up to sit side by side, as they had done the night before, with space for bedrolls and a fire between them. On this night, however, they planned to sleep there, having no reason to go elsewhere to hide. Perley and Tom managed to find enough firewood to start the fire, although it was scarce among the runty trees. The women began preparing the supper of beans, bacon, and pan biscuits, to be washed down with the usual coffee.
After the horses were taken care of, Perley said, “That ain’t gonna be enough wood for that fire. I’m gonna walk downstream a-ways.” He pointed to some dark forms against the sky. “Looks like there’re some bigger trees down there.”
“I’ll help!” Alice immediately volunteered.
“Me, too!” Melva sang out.
“Perley don’t wanna bother with you two young’uns,” their mother said. “You can stay right here and help me and your Aunt Emma.” She glanced at her husband and said, “Besides, he might have some other business to attend to.” Tom nodded his agreement.
“They won’t be any bother,” Perley assured her. “I could use the help—two bi
g strong girls like that. I might be able to bring enough wood to build us a cabin.”
Rachael shook her head as if doubting his sincerity. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, but you’d best get at it because we’re gonna be eatin’ pretty quick now.”
“Come on,” Perley said, “if you’re comin’ with me, you’d better be ready to work.” He started off downstream, the two little girls skipping along behind him.
“I swear,” Rachael commented as she watched them fade into the darkness. “They took to him like ticks take to a dog.” She tried to see them a few moments longer. “I didn’t think I’d have ever let my two little girls wander off in the darkness with a man I ain’t known any longer than I have Perley Gates.”
“Well, you don’t need to give it a thought,” Emma spoke up. “Your girls are in the safest place they can be when they’re with Perley. And I ain’t known him a helluva long time, myself.”
* * *
“Somebody’s comin’,” Billy Watts announced. The others turned, expecting it to be Tate Lester, and watched until his horse approached.
“They made camp up ahead, Boss, about half a mile,” Tate reported.
“Well, it’s about time we caught up with ’em,” Zachary Slocum replied, his patience having long departed. “Is there water there?” Their horses were in need as well.
“Yes, sir, there’s water. I got close enough to see a stream. They got the wagons lined up side by side, got a fire built between ’em. They look just as peaceful as you please, don’t seem to be worried about anybody botherin’ ’em.”
“That’s good,” Slocum said, “now we’ll ride down there and pay ’em a little visit.” They all climbed on their horses and followed Tate back the way he had come, five men bound to kidnap a mother and her child. Zachary Slocum was interested in taking the baby only, but Margaret had warned him that separating the child from his mother might cause him much more trouble than he wanted. If the baby was as young as they thought, it might still be on his mother’s breast, so they were leading one extra horse for Emma.
Back at the camp beside the stream, the women were in the process of serving supper. Tom took his plate and coffee over and sat down beside Possum to eat. Rachael peered into the darkness, looking for Perley and the girls. “I told him to be quick, told him supper was almost ready,” she complained.
“Alice and Melva are liable to be drivin’ him crazy,” Tom commented.
“Don’t nobody move, and nobody’ll get shot!” The deep, thunderous command came from behind them, causing both Tom and Possum to drop their plates and start to scramble to their feet. “Hold it right there,” the voice commanded, “or, by God, I’ll cut you down where you stand.” Shocked motionless, the four of them stood helpless, awaiting their fate. In a few minutes, they emerged from the dark night, five mounted men, riding abreast, their horses slowly approaching them.
“There ain’t nothin’ here worth stealin’!” Possum exclaimed. “Go along and let us be!”
“You’d best keep your mouth shut,” the rider in the middle of the five roared. “I’m short of patience for all of you Butcher Bottom scum. Just give me what I came for, and I’ll leave you be.”
“And just what might that be?” Possum asked. His first thought had to be that somehow someone had found out about the large sum of money they carried.
“Which one of you women is Emma Wise?” Slocum demanded.
Emma stepped forward. “I was Emma Wise,” she volunteered bravely, “but my name is Emma Slocum now.”
“The hell it is!” Slocum came back angrily, then sought to control his temper. “I’m Zachary Slocum, and I’ve come to take my grandson back to the Lazy-S where he belongs.”
“My baby belongs with me!” Emma responded defiantly.
“If you insist,” Slocum said, his tone a shade calmer than before, remembering what Margaret had told him. “I brought an extra horse for you, if you want to come with us. But make no mistake, the baby comes with me, with or without you.”
“You made it very plain to Dan what you think of me,” Emma replied, finally with an opportunity to speak her mind to Dan’s father. “You disowned him because of me, so I’m not goin’ anywhere with you!”
“I reckon you heard the lady,” Tom spoke up for the first time. “Now, turn around and ride outta here the same way you came in.”
“Mister, you’re talkin’ mighty big, considerin’ the spot you’re in,” Ace Barnett could hold his tongue no longer. “You figure you’ll take on all five of us all by your lonesome?”
“Shut up, Ace,” Bob Rance said. “Boss’ll do the talkin’.”
“Is that what we come here for, to do some talkin’?” Ace sneered. “What these folks need is a little dose of hot lead, and I’d be tickled to start the party. Hell, there’s five of us, you wanna make your move?” His hand on the handle of his .44, he was looking directly at Tom.
“No, he ain’t as dumb as you. Take your hand off the gun.” All five of the riders looked stunned when the calm voice came from the darkness behind them. Only one moved. With his hand already resting on the handle of his Colt .44, Ace drew the weapon and tried to turn around far enough to fire. The fact that he was sitting on a horse restricted his turn, and when he could see behind him, he found himself peering into the darkness, unable to find a target. Standing at an angle to the line of horses, beside a laurel bush, Perley gave him another chance. “Drop the gun,” he ordered, but Ace was already too far committed to back down. With no target visible, he fired wildly in the direction the voice came from. Two shots ripped through the leaves of the laurel, prompting Perley to stop him before he got lucky. When Ace saw the muzzle flash from Perley’s gun, it was almost at the same instant the bullet went into the shoulder of his gun hand. The pistol dropped to the ground and Ace howled in pain. The other Lazy-S riders tried to turn to face Perley, but their horses were too close together to turn without bumping into each other. They ended up in a tangle with half of them still facing the camp and half facing in the opposite direction. By the time they got them under control again, Possum and Tom had their guns in hand and Rachael had Tom’s shotgun aimed and ready.
“Everybody hold it!” Bob Rance yelled. Other than Perley, he was the only one calm enough to realize the situation was about to blow sky-high. “Let’s talk about this before somebody else gets shot!”
Furious after Ace had caused a complete turnaround of their advantage, Slocum was about to draw his handgun when he encountered the sharp gaze of Possum Smith, his pistol aimed at him, as if inviting him to pull the weapon. Slocum thought better of it, realizing that the possibility of his getting shot was very likely under the circumstances. He had no choice but to try a more civil approach. “Rance is right, we need to put the guns away. I only came here to give Miss Wise the opportunity to come to the Lazy-S with my grandson, so he could be raised like a real Slocum.” He paused, then added, “Where she’d be a lot better off than ridin’ all over the prairie in a broken-down wagon.”
“Well, now that sounds a little different from the first way you said it,” Possum said, his handgun still in hand. “That sounds like a nice, polite invitation, don’t it?” He glanced over at Emma, still standing fiercely defiant. “Whaddaya say to that, Mrs. Slocum?” He grinned when he saw Slocum cringe at the use of the name.
“I say he can go to . . .” she started, then mindful of Possum’s polite approach, she started over. “I say thank you, sir, for your kind invitation, but my family and my friends have other plans.”
“Well, I reckon that about sums up this little meetin’,” Perley said. “Sorry you rode all the way out here for nothin’. We’d invite you to stay for supper, but most of that ended up on the ground when you showed up unannounced.”
Slocum was burning inside, but he knew he had lost all the advantage he had ridden in with. When he looked at Ace, holding his arm painfully against his side, he was tempted to put another bullet in him for triggering the mess. “All right,�
� he finally managed to say. “We’ll go. The woman’s makin’ a mistake. That boy coulda been raised as a Slocum, but we’ll go, no need for any more gunplay.” He started to turn his horse around but paused again. “Where are you folks headin’, anyway.”
Quick to answer before someone might say, Possum said, “Mexico, we’ve got us a nice little ranch south of the Rio Grande.” He ignored the puzzled look on Emma’s face, hoping none of the Lazy-S men had noticed it. “We’ve been tryin’ to brush up on our Spanish as we go along.”
“You best get that wagon wheel fixed or you ain’t gonna make it to the Rio Grande,” Tate Lester mumbled, as they backed their horses away from the camp. Following Slocum’s lead, they went to the creek to water their horses before starting back the way they had come. Rance pulled up beside Slocum and asked, “Whaddaya wanna do now, Boss?”
“I think it’s obvious they won that deal,” Slocum answered, surprising Rance with his calmness. “We didn’t handle that worth a damn. We should have made sure we knew where everybody was, before we let that bastard get in behind us.” Thinking about the situation again, he continued. “Then that damn hothead fool, Ace, blew the lid off with that fool move he made, or we mighta still been in control. But not only did he get himself shot, he gave the rest of ’em time to get their guns out.” He didn’t say anything more for a few minutes, his mind occupied with the time he could afford to spend at this particular time. Reluctantly, he decided. “We need to get the men back to the ranch. We’re in the middle of gettin’ the cattle ready to drive to market, and I don’t want to delay that any more than we already have. Comin’ here tonight has already delayed us two more days.” He turned to look squarely at his foreman. “This thing with my grandson ain’t finished yet, not by a helluva lot, but we’ll take care of business first. I don’t plan to be the last herd to Dodge City.”
Bullets Don't Argue Page 12