by Neil Hunter
Riley sat back, tipping his hat back from his face. ‘See, he ain’t bad hurt.’
We cleaned Crown’s arm and got him wrapped up and on his horse. He insisted on helping with the herd and as much as I wanted him to rest I was glad of his help.
As we got the herd on the move we kept our eyes skinned in case the Reevers came back. I didn’t think they would but we didn’t figure to take any chances.
We left the three dead Reever men where they lay. I would have liked to have buried them but with the rest of the bunch nearby I figured it was wiser to move on. The dead men would have to lie until their friends came for them.
We pushed the herd as fast as we could and despite the rough terrain we made good time. By nightfall we were well clear of the area where the fight had taken place. I dropped back a number of times to check the back trail.
Each time I came back with the news that we were not being followed. If I had been one of the Reevers, I would have given up by this time. It had already cost more than it was worth. There would be other cattle but dead men were gone forever, and bullets have no preference. They can kill a leader just as surely as they can kill one of his followers.
Riley found us a handy box-canyon for the night. We pushed the herd in and built a brush fence across the width of the canyon.
I made a fire at the mouth of the canyon, where we could sit with our backs to the high rock wall. While Crown put some coffee on I got the horses unsaddled. Riley took his rifle and went off some way to keep watch.
It was clear and cool after the heat of the day. Stars began to appear. The dark bulk of the hills lay behind us, in front the land fell away in a series of ridges and slopes. Down there, in amongst the trees and rocks, was the way we had come today. There was no regular trail and we had made our own. Tomorrow we would have to push the herd across even higher slopes, through thick stands of tall trees and heavy brush. One way or another we were going to earn our money.
Crown wanted to take his regular turn on watch, but Riley and I were both against the idea. After a lot of grumbling Crown turned into his blankets and lay down. His wound had left him weak, though he never would have said so and he was more tired than he showed. Once he was down he slept the night through, though when I came off my watch at dawn he was up and preparing breakfast.
‘How you feeling?’ I asked.
‘Hungry.’ He passed me a mug of coffee. ‘Arm’s stiff but I’ll manage.’
Riley came back from getting the horses ready. We sat down and ate breakfast. After we had finished the coffee we broke camp, removed the brush-barrier, and drove the herd out of the canyon, turning them up onto the rising slopes.
Before we had been moving for two hours the way became even more difficult than I had imagined. The hill slopes were steep and trees and rocks and heavy brush made the going rough. To make things worse the sun came out with a vengeance, the heat adding to our discomfort. More than once we had to turn the herd away from some impassable obstruction and try to find a safer way round. It made the going slow and as the morning dragged by I realized that we were not going to make much distance until we reached easier ground.
The rest of that day saw us over the farthermost ridge and onto fairly level terrain. We were still in heavily-wooded country but it was a sight better than the rugged slopes we had come over, and it gave us time to relax.
Darkness was falling as we trailed the weary herd down a long, green slope that led into a grassy meadow. I could see a stream cutting its way across the meadow. We turned the herd that way and once the beeves got the scent they needed little coaxing.
Again we made camp, ate, took turns at watching the herd. With another dawn it was breakfast, break camp and then back to pushing the herd on towards Hope.
Late in the afternoon we came within sight of the Thorpe spread and I felt my spirits lift at the thought of seeing Judith again. I remembered, too, what I had set myself to ask her and for a moment I wondered if maybe I was taking too much for granted. Then I thought again and I knew I wasn’t.
We drove the herd onto Thorpe range and watched them settle contentedly. Those beeves were as weary as we were and they wouldn’t be doing any wandering.
‘We’ll sleep sound tonight, boys,’ I told Crown and Riley as we rode in on the Thorpe ranch. ‘These are nice people.’
‘This girl of yours,’ Crown asked, ‘can she cook?’
I grinned at him through my stubble. ‘Like you never tasted food before.’
‘No wonder he’s so much in a hurry to get there,’ Riley said.
The house door flew open as we reined in and Judith came running out, her eyes bright, cheeks flushed. I came down out of my saddle and she was in my arms as my feet touched the ground. I kissed her hard and it was a moment in my life I knew I’d never forget. She held me like she was never going to let go.
‘I didn’t think you were coming back,’ she said.
‘Now don’t tell me you really thought that,’ I told her.
She smiled, shook her head. ‘No. Not really. But I thought you might meet someone else. Maybe a prettier girl.’
‘There’s no such girl,’ I said and I meant it.
I took her across to meet Crown and Riley. They were standing by their horses, trying to look as though they were minding their own business.
‘Boys, this is Miss Judith Thorpe.’ They took off their hats like they were real gentlemen and I knew that if I made one joke about it they would lay me out fast. ‘Judith, this is Joe Crown and Lew Riley.’
‘Ma’am, it’s an honor,’ Crown said. ‘I can see now why Brig never stops talking about you.’
Riley only nodded, his face wreathed in a fixed smile.
I saw William Thorpe come out of the house and I went across to greet him. 'I'm taking you up on your offer of hospitality, sir.’
‘You and your men are more than welcome,’ he said. ‘How did your trip go?’
‘Very well, sir,’ I told him.
‘Tell you what, Brig. You and your men can get cleaned up and then we’ll have supper and you can tell me all about it.’
The offer of supper was just what we needed, and after washing and shaving and changing into clean shirts, Crown and Riley and I sat down to one of Judith’s welcome meals. We were hungry men and we did Judith proud, for there was nothing left on the table by the time we’d done.
‘My goodness, don’t you men eat while you’re on the trail?’ Judith asked.
Crown glanced at her, smiling. ‘Yes, ma’am, we eat. But bacon and beans soon lose their flavor. If we could eat like we just have I don’t think we’d have a thing to complain about.’
Judith refilled his coffee cup. ‘Why thank you, Mr. Crown.’
A little later I sat by the fire with William Thorpe. Crown and Riley were in the kitchen helping Judith with the washing up. They’d insisted on giving her help.
‘Those are good men, Brig. The type who’ll stick with you no matter what.’
‘I know, sir. They’ve already proved their loyalty.’
‘The Reevers?’
‘Yes. Have you had any trouble from them?’
He shook his head. ‘I’ve known they frequent these hills. People are always warning me about them but I’ve had no contact with them so far.’
‘I hope you never do.’
Thorpe smiled. ‘I’m prepared for most emergencies, Brig, so don’t worry about me.’
I heard Judith’s laughter from the kitchen and I was reminded of the matter I had to put to Thorpe before too long. There was no use in holding back I knew and I wasn’t one for hesitating when it was time for speaking up.
‘Sir, I have something I wish to say to you.’
Thorpe glanced at me steadily. ‘What is it, Brig?’
‘Sir, I want to marry Judith and I’d like your permission.’
Thorpe smiled gently, leaning back in his armchair. ‘Have you asked her yet?’ he inquired.
‘Not yet, sir. I thought it right to
speak to you first.’ I hesitated. ‘Sir, I love Judith and I want more than anything else I’ve ever wanted to marry her. I know I haven’t known her long but I don’t think that makes much difference. If I wasn’t sure I would not have spoken up.’
‘I know that, Brig, and I know you mean what you say. You go and ask her. If she’ll have you, then you both have my blessing.’
I stood up. ‘Thank you, sir. I can promise you that I’ll look after her. She’ll not want for anything.’
I made my way to the kitchen. Judith was just finishing tying a fresh bandage round Crown’s arm. Riley sat across the table eating pie and drinking hot coffee. They glanced up as I appeared in the door.
‘Brig, we may quit workin’ for you and sign on here,’ Riley grinned.
I said, ‘You’ll soon work off all that apple pie when we start for Hope.
Crown buttoned his shirt. ‘Brig, why don’t you take this girl for a walk. She’s done enough work for one night.’
‘That’s what I came for.’
I opened the kitchen door and followed Judith outside. The night was chill and bright with stars. We walked around to the front of the house and wandered off a small way. Wind blew softly through the trees and hissed through the grass. We hardly spoke as we walked.
‘I like Joe and Lew,’ Judith said after a while.
‘They’re good men,’ I answered. Td have been in real trouble if they hadn’t have been with me this trip.’
Judith stopped suddenly, turning, her face pale in the starlight. ‘Oh, Brig, you could have been killed,’ she said, and the concern in her voice was strong.
‘No chance of that,’ I said. ‘Not when I had you to come back to.’
She smiled then and I saw she was blushing.
‘Judith, I had a talk with your father just now about something important. Now I have something to ask you.’
She faced me, her eyes on me. ‘Yes, Brig.’
For a moment I was speechless. Suppose she said no when I asked her. What would I do? But I knew she wouldn’t say no and I wondered why I was hesitating.
‘Judith, I love you and I want you to be my wife. Will you?’
She stood silent for a moment, her eyes big and wide. Then she came to me, put her arms around me. ‘Yes, Brig. Oh, yes.’
I kissed her, kissed like I’d never kissed a girl before. We stayed there in the starry darkness, unmindful of the cold, oblivious of everything except each other and the strange excitement of this moment. I could feel a gentle trembling from Judith’s close-pressed body and I became acutely aware of her firm, womanly contours as she stirred gently against me.
‘I think we’d better go back in,’ I said a little while later, ‘else they’ll be sending a search-party for us.’
She laughed softly. ‘I don’t care. Oh, Brig, I’m so happy.’ ‘And me,’ I said.
We went on back up to the house. William Thorpe was in the kitchen with Crown and Riley. When we gave them our news Thorpe took us all into the house and poured glasses of brandy for us all. We stayed up late, talking and laughing, but I took little of it in. My eyes were for Judith and I was telling myself how lucky I was and wondering what the future held in store for us.
Chapter Eight
We stayed over at Circle-T for another day. It gave the herd a rest and it gave us one as well. It also gave me some more time with Judith and we put it to good use, planning for our marriage. I gave Judith the dress I’d bought for her and she was well pleased with it, wearing it that day. I presented Thorpe with the box of cigars and he shared them with us.
That evening Judith gave us a fine meal before we turned in. I had decided on an early start. I wanted to get the herd to Hope as soon as possible. Once I had it off my hands I could start making plans for Judith and myself. There was much to do in the near future and I was eager to get started on it.
Before I turned in I took Judith for a walk beyond the house. We talked of our future. I told her my ambitions and she listened and encouraged me and just to have her there, to have her hear my plans, made them that much more exciting. I saw little that could stop me from putting them through.
We left the wedding-date open, not wanting to pin ourselves down for a few months yet. I needed time to get my cattle dealing on a firm footing. It would mean a lot of work, with little time to spare. But I didn’t want to put things off for too long and I knew Judith didn’t.
Come morning we ate breakfast and saddled up. We said our good-byes and I was loathe to leave Judith, but I consoled myself with the thought that I would be seeing her again soon.
Riding out to the herd we got it on the move, driving it easily across Circle-T range, and onto the downward slope of the hills. We had two days of driving ahead of us. The way was unmarked. As with the first part of our trip, we were going to have to blaze our own trail. It took us some time. We came upon numerous rough-spots and more than once we had to push the herd back the way we had come until we found an easier route. Twice on the first day it rained. It was the cold, icy rain of the high country and despite our slickers we got soaked. Luckily it stopped before nightfall so we were able to make camp in comparative comfort, building ourselves a good fire to dry our damp clothes.
The second day was worse than the first. Late in the afternoon we pushed the herd out of the timberline, onto the rocky lower slopes of the hills. There was a lot of tricky ground before us now. Long slopes of loose shale, crumbling ledges and sheer drops. There were jumbled falls of huge boulders, choked with brush, and here and everywhere there were countless holes and crevices to watch out for. The sun was out and it was hot and dry and dusty. Most of the time we were riding in a thick, misty cloud that clogged the mouth and nose, irritating the throat and making the eyes smart.
We coaxed and coddled that herd down those slopes, near enough carrying them over the rougher spots, dragging them out of trouble on the end of a rope more than once. And when finally we got them to the bottom we had only lost three out of the entire herd.
We were filthy, tired, sweat-soaked. Our eyes stung, our throats were swollen from eating dust. Our arms ached from working horses and ropes. We wanted baths, food, and sleep. But we had got the herd over those hills at the cost of only three lost steers.
Darkness was closing around us fast as we drove the herd across ground that was easy after what we had just come over. We were close on the mine now and it was my intention to bed the herd nearby for the night.
I hadn’t expected to get too close without being spotted. I knew my brothers too well for that. Sachs and Joel as well. I was not disappointed, for as we pushed the weary herd up the long slope that faced onto the mine area I saw a rider approaching us.
It was Jacob. He rode straight to me, his face split by a wide grin.
‘Damnit, Brig, it looks like you did it,’ he said.
‘I said I would.’
He sat for a moment looking the cattle over. ‘They’ll go wild in Hope when they see you bring this lot in,’ he said.
‘Wild enough to buy?’ I asked.
Jacob laughed. ‘God, yes. I figure they’ll make you mayor.’
‘Mayor of Hope?’
‘Yeah. Things have been happening. A town council has been formed. Seems like they’re trying to bring Hope to heel, get things organized. There’s talk of a marshal being elected.’
‘You think they’ll get anyone to stand for that job?’
‘They already have one candidate.’ Jacob rubbed his chin. ‘Seth.’
I wasn’t overly surprised. Of the three of us Seth was the most civic-minded. He understood the need for law and order better than either Jacob or I. He knew it had to be brought to the wild places like Hope, for if it wasn’t they would simply burn themselves out and end up either as ghost-towns or kill-crazy hellholes. If Seth did get the job he’d make a go of it, that I knew. He had the patience and tolerance that any good lawman needed. He also had enough of the hard stuff in him to take on any odds but he also knew when to sto
p and draw the line.
Jacob gave us a hand to settle the herd before I rode into camp with him. Crown and Riley stayed with the herd. I would relieve them later but right now I wanted to see Seth and Joel and Sachs.
Supper was being cooked as we rode in. It smelled good. Sachs was bent over the fire, stirring the contents of a blackened pot, and as I got out of my saddle he straightened up and saw me.
‘Hell, Brig, I never known anybody with such timing,’ he said. ‘The second the grub’s ready, there you are.’
I grinned. ‘Fill a plate for me,’ I told him, ‘I’m a hungry man.’
Seth and Joel appeared then, coming out of the black mine tunnel. I watched them come across. They were as dirty as I was, grimed and sweat-streaked.
‘Brig, it’s good to see you,’ Joel said. He grinned at me, his teeth very white against his dirty face. He was unshaven, his hair long and shaggy, his clothes filthy. He looked a different man to the one we had ridden into Hope with and I had a feeling that he was achieving what he’d set out to do, and enjoying it too.
‘How’s the cattle trade?’ Seth asked. He was bent over a wooden barrel, stripped to the waist as he washed the dirt from his body.
I took a mug of coffee, hunkered down by the fire, and relaxed.
‘I’ve got two hundred and forty seven head bunched out on the grass,’ I told Seth. ‘Good stuff. Not a rib showing in any one of them.’
‘What price you pay?’ Seth asked then. I told him and he nodded. ‘The way they’re hungering for beef in Hope you’ll be able to name your own price.’
I helped myself to more coffee. ‘Way I hear it you may be able to do the same in a while.’
Seth pulled on a fresh shirt. ‘Jacob told you?’ He joined me by the fire. ‘It could be a good job, Brig. I’m like you. I’ve had my fill of mining. I want something else. Wearing a badge appeals to me. I have a feeling I can handle the job. I’d like to give it a try.’
Joel joined us and Jacob filled our plates. We ate, then sat back and drank coffee. I had some cigars in my shirt that I’d brought from Tarrant and I handed them round.