II
Temple McMurphy held up his brown gelding and drew Pac’s pinto forward. Reese brought his horse along side his brother.
“There he is,” Temple said with a sigh of relief.
Reese shook his head and smiled. “I was afraid the little shit had bought it this time.”
Pac McMurphy stopped when he saw his brothers, drew his hat close to his head and waited for them to come to him. His feet hurt and he was stiff but he wasn’t about to let them know it.
“Your pinto came in late last evening. There wasn’t no blood but we feared the worst,” Temple said as his horse stepped forward.
“He got away from me.”
“The paint got away from you? Alright,” Temple said. “If that’s your story.”
Anger flashed in Pac’s eyes. “You calling me a liar?”
“Well?” Reese said.
“Screw you,” Pac said harshly.
“Ain’t nobody calling you a liar,” Temple said calmly after giving Reese a hard look. “It just seems odd that you would lose a horse that you’re practically glued to.”
“I had to relieve myself and the horse took off.”
“You normally relieve yourself without this?” Reese asked as he drew Pac’s Colt from his saddle bag.
For a moment Pac was silent. “I was afraid it would fall out of my holster when I took my pants down.”
“You better worry more about not having that gun when you need it then where it will land when you take a shit,” Reese said with a chuckle.
Temple didn’t smile although he wanted to. He knew Pac would blow up if he joined his brother in the teasing and he was tired of arguing with him. “Get on your horse. We’ve got a long way to ride.”
“Ain’t going with you,” Pac said as he slipped his revolver into his holster and took the reins of the pinto. “I was going some place when I lost him and I intend to finish the trip.”
“Probably going off to pay a visit to Jesse Pearson’s daughter. Jeeze, Pac, what is she? All of fifteen? Jesse is going to shoot your ass off if he catches you with her,” Reese said.
“Ain’t none of your gott-damned business where I go or who I visit,” Pac said.
“I’ll remember that the next time Temple wants to ride half way across Texas looking for your sorry ass,” Reese snapped.
“I didn’t ask for your help,” Pac said as he spurred the pinto north leaving his brothers without another word.
“Ain’t he a grateful little turd?” Reese asked. “I hope he’s keeping his wick in his pants. He sure as hell ain’t ready to be a papa. I sure as hell ain’t ready to have greasy old Jesse as an in-law.”
Temple watched the pinto galloping easily toward the horizon. “I want you to back off Pac for a while and cut him some slack. Mom says we’re driving him away and I think she’s right.”
“Momma’s poor little Pac will get his feelings hurt. We sure wouldn’t want to do that,” Reese said mockingly.
“I tell you what I don’t want to do. I don’t want to pack him home slung across the back of a horse and explain to Mom how he got killed.”
“You think that letting him ride north of the Red is going to keep him alive?”
Temple slapped the tips of his reins against his saddle horn. “Maybe if we weren’t so hard on him, he’d be around the ranch more often.”
“What’s with you? You know better than that. When are you and Mom going to quit making excuses for him? I don’t care if he is twenty years old. Neither of you would have taken that crap off of me and Mom wouldn’t have taken it off of you. Why is it we always got to treat Pac like he’s something special? Just because he’s Mom’s favorite.”
“Well, he is. And there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Reese smiled and nodded. “I’ve got to get home. I haven’t seen Sarah and the girls in three days.”
Temple nodded and turned his mount to follow. “Thanks for riding with me anyhow.”
“Sure, big brother. Anytime.”
“What about that freight in Brownswood? John says that he’s about out of dry goods at the store.”
“I was wanting to haul Ely’s bagged wheat on the out trip to cut expenses. I was hoping to hear from him soon.”
“Go see him first thing in the morning. Tell him you’re going with or without his wheat. Get him off the pot. John and Fritz need those goods.”
“I’ll leave tomorrow with or without Ely’s wheat,” Reese said.
“And take along Gomez and Shaky. I don’t want you and Butch traveling alone.”
“You really think we need guards for canned goods?”
“Until things settle down, I don’t want anyone on the ranch or any of the teamsters in the open alone.”
“That makes sense, I guess. What doesn’t make sense is letting Pac go off alone and you know it.”
“I wonder how he did lose his pistol and horse?” Temple asked. “We both know that the pinto didn’t run off and leave him.”
“Whatever happened, he won’t talk. What about the cattle?”
“I can’t wait any longer. I figure I’ve got near to seven hundred steers ready to go in the north herd and we’ve got to brand and work those newborns.”
“You going to drive them to Abilene?”
“I don’t see that I have much choice,” Temple answered. “We got hands to pay and we can’t keep carrying the payroll with freight business.”
“You’re going to have a fight the minute you cross the Red. Why don’t we drive them east”?
“I don’t plan on crossing until we’re far enough west to take a straight shot to Abilene. Maybe I can sneak past them. Anyway, it’s too far to take them east. I’ve got to ship from Abilene if I expect to get a price.”
“We knew this day was coming. We’re caught between the rock and the hard place and the other ranchers are too scared to make a fight of it.”
“After what happened to the Evan’s place, who can blame them?”
“If we could just get to Black Tom, we could end this whole thing in minutes,” Reese said.
“Fat chance of that happening and even if we did, Colredge would still have control of over forty riders. We’re going to have a full blown range war if we aren’t careful.”
“That’s exactly what we need. Until we get off our asses and go up there on a raid, the Ring is going to pick us apart one ranch at a time. When are you, John, Fritz and Mom going to realize that?”
“It ain’t that simple and you know it. What about Sarah and your girls? I sure don’t want to see them orphaned and widowed. There’s a lot of other ranchers in the same circumstance.”
“Things have sure changed since the old days. Hell, the old man wouldn’t have thought that way.”
“And what do you know about that?”
“I’ve heard Fritz’s stories. How he brought back those stolen horses, went after that Comanche who took the Eldridge girl, and made that raid on those Comancheros.”
“And where is he now, Reese? You want your girls growing up like we did?”
Reese held up his mount and stared hard at his brother. “At least we got his memory to be proud of. At least we know that he came into this country and made it a place worth holding on to. At least we know he would have fought rather than be rolled over.”
“Are you so sure of that?”
“Yes, and so are you. Damn it, Temple, you listen too much to Mom and John and not enough to what you know is right. Until we make a fight of it, they’re going to slowly wear us down until there’s nothing left.”
Temple listened silently. He spurred his horse forward without answering. Reese watched for a moment then followed, shaking his head.
Chapter VI
I
Red Meadows stepped down from his horse, squatted and stirred the dust of the track with his finger. He looked up toward the lone mesa to the south and shook his head.
“What do you think?” Burt Blake asked.
“Two hour
s maybe three. Can’t tell for sure. He speeded up here. I think he made for the mesa.”
“Why would he? He don’t know we’re after him.”
Three more riders circled Meadows as he unslung his canteen and took a drink.
“He speeded up when he broke the crest of this hill. The only thing to draw him is that mesa. It would be a perfect position to take a stand,” Meadows said as he retied his canteen.
Blake dismounted and tightened the cinch on his saddle. “Bartello, you got a jug of that cactus whiskey with you?”
“Si, patron. You want a little.”
“Sure, why the hell not? We can take a break while Meadows gets up his nerve.”
The men laughed and dismounted. Meadows ignored them and stepped forward, studying the top of the mesa.
Blake took a swig and passed it to the others. “I wonder how you got hired into this outfit Meadows. You’re as jumpy as a whore in church.”
“You tell me this guy just waltzed into Colredge’s office and got the drop on both of you. You tell me he’s an old hand on the range. Then you tell me his name. Hell, I’ve heard stories about Pommel McMurphy from the old days. Now you tell me he don’t know we’re after him. Why wouldn’t he know?”
Bartello carried the crock jug to Meadows and set it at his feet. “Have a drink, Senor Red. It will do you good.”
As Bartello stepped away, the jug exploded, throwing a shower of whiskey on the Mexican and Meadows. An instant later the roar of gunfire echoed off the Mesa.
Every rider dove for cover, their horses scattering over the ridge top like husks in the wind.
“Gott-damn it! Where’s he at?” Blake cursed.
“Somewhere on the mesa,” Meadows answered as he crawled closer toward the mesquite tree he was trying to use for cover.”
“The hell you say. That’s a good four hundred yards away,” Blake said.
“Nearer five, and that jug ain’t no bigger than your hat,” Meadows said.
“He was aiming at you.”
“The hell he was. He hit exactly where he was aiming. You don’t hit a half-gallon jug from that distance by accident.”
“Gamble, get to my horse and fetch my Winchester,” Blake ordered.
Gamble, a short stocky blond shook his head. “You fetch it your own self. It’s a good twenty-five feet in the open to that horse.”
“We’ll cover you.”
“With what? Them handguns? You might as well throw rocks at this distance.”
“I’ll get it for you,” Cad Autry shouted from his rock cover. “I can make it in a jump or two.”
Autry stepped from the rock then hesitated. No shot was fired. He took another step into the open.
“What are you doing?” Meadows asked.
“I think he left. I think he lit out for the high lonesome,” Autry answered as he tried another step, and another. After a few moments he cursed and walked boldly to the horse drawing Blake’s Winchester from the scabbard. “Shit, there’s nothing to worry about.”
As Autry turned dust rose from the left pocket of his shirt and he fell backward into the dirt. A gush of blood flowed through the pocket and another roar of gunfire echoed from the mesa.
“I kind of liked old Cad,” Gamble said. “Too bad he was so damned stupid.”
“Shut up, I’m thinking,” Blake said.
“Don’t hurt yourself,” Meadows said softly to himself.
“If we all move at once, some of us ought to make it to the horses,” Blake said.
“That’s a hell of a plan,” Meadows said as he gave Blake a disgusted look. “You going first?”
“No damn it, we all go at once. I’ll count to three.” No one objected so Blake counted. “One, Two, Three, go!”
No one moved.
“Well, go on, Blake. Lead the way,” Meadows said.
Bartello laughed and rolled deeper into the depression he took for cover.
“Listen, you sons-a-bitches. He can’t be that good,” Blake cursed.
“You don’t believe he’s that good, you lead the way,” Meadows answered.
Gamble crawled quickly over the ridge and down the other side. “I made it. I’m out of his line of fire.”
“Good,” Blake said. “Fetch those horses before they go any further.”
“Then what?” Meadows asked.
“We get the horses and charge the mesa. We’ll ride him down from the jump,” Blake answered.
“Have you looked at that country. It’s as bare as my granny’s butt. You get your tactical skills from General Pickett?”
Again, Bartello laughed.
“Then what do you think we should do?” Blake finally asked.
“We get our horses and we go back to Pampa. We have a drink and wait for someone who’s bullet proof to take that mesa.”
“Si, Amigo. This plan I like,” Bartello laughed.
“Colredge isn’t going to like it,” Blake said after a pause.
“Colredge can ride up here and take the hill. Hell, I’ll ride with him and show him the best position to charge from,” Meadows said.
“Si,” Bartello laughed. “I’ll come too.”
“I don’t like crawling out of here on my belly,” Blake said in disgust.
“I’ll crawl. That’s a hell of a lot better than Autry’s method.”
“I got the horses,” Gamble called from the other side of the ridge. “What now?”
“Why don’t you bring them up here for us to mount up?” Bartello called.
There was silence, then. “I think I’ll wait for you guys here.”
Bartello again broke out in laughter.
Meadows smiled and watched the mesa top. He hadn’t seen shooting like that since the war. “You suppose he’s been buffalo hunting all these years?” he asked.
“I guess I should have took him at his word when he told us he was good at his work,” Blake conceded.
“I guess so,” Meadows said softly.
Pommel sat back from his rifle and studied the crawling forms among the mesquite. He levered a fresh round into the chamber, closed the dust cover at the top of the ejection port, and gathered the brass cartridge hulls scattered in the dust. He hadn’t wanted to kill the one but figured he had to or they would have charged him. They would have had a hell of a time making the mesa without having their horses shot out from under them but a few might have made it if they rode smart using the lay of the land to their favor. He smiled. Any of Bent’s riders would think twice before riding openly south of the Red. He had been lucky with his shots and it would pay off.
II
When Temple stepped from the house he was surprised to see his mother and Fritz Blomberg waiting in the buggy. They normally did not come to the ranch and never together.
“We just ate. I’m sure there’s plenty left for you,” Temple said with a smile as he took his mother’s hand and helped her down from the seat.
“Thank you, sir,” Blomberg said as he stepped to the ground, stretched and examined the surrounding corrals and buildings. “It’s been a while since I’ve been out here. You’ve made a number of improvements.”
“Where’s Pac?” Mary asked.
Temple looked Fritz in the eye before answering, telegraphing his lie. “He’s out on the range checking cattle.”
“I hope he’s not alone. It’s too dangerous for him to ride alone.”
“Mom, Pac does what he wants to. He won’t listen to me or anyone else. He rides where he wants when he wants.”
“You’re not still arguing with him, are you?” Mary asked as she climbed the porch steps.
“Pac and I haven’t argued for several days, now,” Temple answered.
“Good, I saw Reese driving wagons out of town yesterday morning. I suppose he’s going to Brownswood.”
“Were they loaded?”
“It looked like they were carrying bagged grain,” Blomberg said as he followed them into the house.
“Good, that’ll pay better than d
eadheading clear to Brownswood,” Temple said as he offered a chair at the table for his mother.
Cap Morgan, the ranch cook, brought in plates and cups as well as a skillet of beans and basket of cornbread.
“Is your cornbread still as good as I remember?” Mary asked with a smile.
“Yes um, I don’t get much complaints,” Cap answered. “Is there anything else you would like, Mrs. Fellows?”
“We need some time to talk alone, Cap. Thank you.”
“Yes um, I’ll clear out for a spell.”
Temple thought it was odd that his mother was so abrupt. Normally she would spend several minutes talking and joking with Cap.
“We need to talk to you, Temple. We don’t want anyone else to hear. Not even your brothers,” Fritz said as he spooned some beans from the pot.
“Is it bank problems? I thought we were pretty square,” Temple asked.
“Everything’s fine at the bank,” Blomberg said as he looked to Mary, wanting her to do the explanation.
“Your father is back,” Mary said bluntly.
Temple was silent for a moment. “Alright. What does that mean?”
“I sent for him.”
Again Temple was silent while he considered the news. “You sent for him? How did you ever find him?”
“I’ve kept track of your father for several years,” Blomberg answered.
“What’s he been doing?” Temple asked.
“He been trail bossing for most of those years. Now he owns a small ranch near Dallas,” Blomberg answered.
“So, where is he, now?”
“He’s ridden up to Pampa. He shot Soap Withers when he tried to ambush you last week. Now he’s ridden to get Black Tom.”
“Whoa there, Mom. When did Soap Withers try to shoot me and why the hell wasn’t I told that my father was riding to Pampa alone?” Temple rose from his chair trying to control his surprise and disappointment. “And why the hell did you send for him without asking my opinion?”
The Red River Ring Page 4