Churkee tuck the lead again, and me and ole Polly just follered along. It looked to be a hell of a long walk to them hills, and before I knowed it, we had walked away half a’ the day. The sun was straight up in the sky, high noon. We stopped and built up a little fire and whomped us up some coffee what had been left behind on account a’ we had tuck it out the night before. Our food was all in the saddlebags, and the horse-thieving bastard had tuck the saddles and bags along with the horses. We dranked us some coffee, and I had a few snorts a’ the good stuff what was still in my coat pocket. Then I stretched out on the ground, and, oh, but my muscles commenced to aching something fierce. I dropped off to sleep.
I woked up whenever Polly went to shaking me by the shoulder, and I opened my eyeballs up and seed her a-looking down at me. “Whut?” I said. “Barjack,” she said, “are you all right?” I tole her a’ course I was all right, and then she said, “Are you ready to go?” I got myself up onto my feet, throwed my blanket roll over my shoulders, and the three of us commenced to walking after our horses and that fucking horse thief. I hadn’t gone very far before I stumbled and fell right smack down on my face. “Goddamn it,” I said. Both a’ them youngsters come a-running and kneeled down beside a’ me.
“Barjack,” said Polly, “are you hurt?”
“No,” I said, “just only my pride. I stumbled is all. Help me up.”
Well, they each got a’ holt a’ one a’ my arms and lifted me up to my feet, and then I shuck them loose and started in to walking again. “Let’s go,” I said. I was careful how and where I stepped after that, but my legs was sure as hell hurting. I was thinking that I would likely die before we reached them hills, but I was goddamned determined to see the son of a bitch what had did this to me dead as hell, so I kept alive all right and kept on a-stumbling along. Whenever I felt like as if I just couldn’t take another step, I just pulled out my bottle and had me a drink. We kept on a-walking till the sun was low in the sky. I couldn’t hardly believe that I had walked a whole entire day long, except that my old bones tole me I had indeed did that. We camped for the night and built a pot a’ coffee. My guts was a-grumbling at me on account a’ having no food all that day, just liquids was all.
In spite a’ my ferocious hungriness, I slept that night. Churkee and Polly tuck turns a-setting up. I couldn’t see how come on account a’ we didn’t have nothing left to steal unless Cody was to slip up on us and steal our guns. Whenever I woked up in the morning, we still had ever’thing we’d had the night before. When I went to set up, I almost couldn’t do it. Goddamn, but I was sore. We fixed up some coffee to get us going, but I sure did crave some food. It had been years since I’d had to go a whole day without no food. Anyhow, we dranked up a pot a’ coffee and then loaded our ass up with our stuff and went to walking again. I wished that I could just lay down and die, but ‘cept I wanted to see that Cody dead too bad to just go on ahead and do it.
We was getting close to the hills whenever Miller spotted a rabbit and shot it. He cleaned it while Polly built a little fire, and then he put the thing on a spit and roasted the little bastard. We coulda used two or three more, but we made it go around for the three of us. Now, I’ll tell you whut, I wasn’t never too fond a’ rabbit meat, but I sure did eat my share a’ that little son of a bitch, and what’s more, I liked it too. We finished up and packed up and went to walking again. I was all right for a spell on account a’ I had et, but by and by I begun to notice all a’ my aches and pains again. But we come to the hills, and that made me feel some good again.
But my ole heart sank somewhat whenever I seed Churkee start in to running up that goddamned hillside like a fucking mountain goat. Polly follered him pretty damn good, but I couldn’t hardly do it. I tried, but real soon I was on all fours, and it hurted me something awful even to crawl up like I was a-doing. In a bit, Churkee looked back to see me, and he slowed down and waited for me. I made it on where he and Polly was waiting, and I set back on my ass, and I was a-panting like a cur dog what had been chasing a rabbit. The only thing is my tongue weren’t hanging out the way a dog’s does. At least, I don’t think it was.
“We’d better sit and rest a spell,” said Polly, a-looking at Churkee. Churkee give me a look. “Yeah,” he said. “I guess so.”
I wanted to tell them to go on without me, not to let me slow them down, but I never. I was too grateful for the suggestion. I just laid back and breathed hard. I could tell that ole Churkee was anxious to get going, but he never said nothing. He set down, but he kept a-looking up the hillside. Final he said, “You two stay here. I’m going to scout ahead a bit.” He didn’t wait for no response from us. He just tuck out, moving fast up that hillside again. He was gone in just a minute.
Polly said, “If he finds that damned Cody, I hope he don’t do nothing without coming back for us first.”
“I wouldn’t count on it, Pretty Polly,” I said. “If that Churkee gets Cody in his sights, I wouldn’t bet a plugged nickel that Cody’d have another minute to live.”
“That bastard,” she said. I wondered if she was talking about Miller or Cody, but I kept my mouth shut about it. I got myself sorta rested up, and I told Polly, so we got our ass up and went to climbing after Churkee. She knowed that I was having a rough time of it, so she went kinder slow, letting me keep up, We moved along. Pretty soon we come to a place where the hillside leveled off into a fl at field. It was broad and wide and back behind it, the hills rose up again. Just as we come up on it, we spied Miller a-setting there at the edge and looking out. We come up on him and joined him there.
“What the hell are you doing?” I said.
He gestured ahead, and I looked across the way close to where the hills rose up again, and I seed three horses. They was wearing saddles. They was a good distance off, but I thunk I could recernize them as ours. But there was just only three. So if they was ours, where the hell was Cody and his horse?
“Well,” I said, “let’s go get them. What are we waiting for?”
“I was kind of waiting to see if Cody would show up,” Miller said.
“Even if he does,” I said, “there’s three of us now. Let’s go.”
That Churkee jumped up and went to running across that wide-open space. He never said okay or nothing. Whenever I said, “Let’s go,” he just jumped up and tuck off. I stood up too then, but I sure as hell couldn’t run after him. I kinda hobbled along. Polly stayed with me. We had got maybe a third a’ the way across, when Churkee had reached the horses. It looked to me like he was looking around to make sure that Cody wasn’t nearby and ready to shoot him from an ambush or something like that. Final, he mounted up on one a’ the horses and tuck the others by the reins and come riding back toward us. He met us right smack in the middle a’ that wide-open space. Now, I can tell you that I was never in my whole entire life so goddamn happy to see a horse as I was just at that moment. I tuck holt a’ the reins with a handful a’ mane in one hand and grabbed on to the saddle horn with the other’n, but I couldn’t seem to get my goddamned foot lifted up high enough to reach the stirrup. “Shit,” I said.
“Here, let me help you,” said Polly, and she come over by my side and tuck holt a’ my leg just below the knee and lifted it up till I could slip my foot into the stirrup. Damn, it hurted. I winced and pulled myself on up into the saddle, and then I just kinder settled down in it trying to relax and feeling good that I weren’t standing on my sorry-ass legs no more.
“Now, Mose,” said Polly, “which a-way did Cody go?”
“Just follow me,” he said, and he went to riding. We follered him. He never rid back to where he had found our horses. I reckon he had done scouted out the tracks and knowed where he was going. As we moved out, I noticed that the movement of the horse under me caused my aching bones and muscles to hurt again. I was disappointed. I had been thinking that all I needed was to get back in a saddle and ever’thing would be all right. Well, it was better, but it was far from all right. All that time a-walking had ruint
me for sure. I figgered that I was crippled for life.
We rid along at a fair clip. I figgered that Churkee was follering tracks, so I just follered him. Polly did too. I squinnied my eyeballs way up ahead of us, but I never seed no sign a’ no rider up there. I just kept on a-trusting Churkee’s tracking skills. By and by, he slowed down and he studied the ground real careful-like. Then he made a sharp turn, but he turned back east instead a’ west. That tuck me by some surprise. I had thought the bastard was headed into the hills, but if Churkee was reading the sign right, he was heading back down outta them. We made our way back down on the flat and into the main road.
“What the hell is this?” I said.
“Cody’s headed back to Asininity,” said Miller.
“Goddamn it,” I said, “I think we’re chasing a crazy son of a bitch.”
Chapter Thirteen
Well, hell, the sun was long down whenever we got our ass back into town, and we hauled up in front a’ the Hooch House and stopped at the hitch rail. Miller was down in the street in a hurry. Polly was right behint him. They had both of them reached the front door and was a-going in, and I was still a-setting in the saddle. By God, my bones and muscles was aching bad. I looked down at the ground, and it sure as hell seemed a long ways down there. I knowed there wasn’t no one going to give me a hand in getting down, so I final lifted my ass up and swung my right leg over the back a’ my ole nag. Whenever my feet hit the ground, I felt a sharp pain run all the way up my legs and into my spine, and I groaned out loud. Good thing there weren’t no one around to hear me. I looped the reins around the rail and turned my ass toward the front door, and it tuck ever’thing I had to amble myself up onto the sidewalk and on into the Hooch House. Whenever I stepped inside, I stopped and looked the place over. Applewhite had hisself a few cardplayers. I needed a little break before I went to walking across that big room.
I seed right off that Polly and Miller the Churkee had done made their way back to my table, and they was setting there with ole Bonnie and Butcher and Happy and Dingle and Sly. Well, I drawed myself up as tall as I could and started in to walking back there as straight and tall as I could muster up. Ever’ step hurt, though. I was a-thinking that now I had as much reason for wanting to kill that goddamn Cody as ever Churkee or Polly had, on account a’ him stealing our horses was the cause a’ my present misery. I made it all right back to my table, and my own personal and private chair was setting empty right beside a’ Bonnie, so I pulled it back and set down in it. Bonnie grabbed me right fast and hugged me tight as hell, and goddamn it hurt my sore muscles. Final, after she give me a real slobbery kiss, she turned mostly a loose a’ me.
No one ast me no questions, on account a’ they had done quizzed up Polly and Miller and got all the answers they wanted about our recent activities. I was hoping they hadn’t tole about the episode with our horses. That whole thing was goddamned embarrassing. Now we all knowed that goddamned Cody was somewhere real close by, but Miller had lost his tracks a couple miles outside a’ Asininity, so we wasn’t atall sure a’ where the son of a bitch had went.
“Churkee,” I said, “have you tole about tracking that bastard near back here?”
“Yes, I did, Barjack,” Miller said.
“Has anyone seed him come into town?” I ast around to ever’one.
Bonnie answered for all of them. “No, Barjack. We ain’t seed hide nor hair of him.”
“Well,” I said, “anyone who sees the son of a bitch, shoot him quick. Then come and tell me about it.”
“Yes, sir,” said Happy.
“Right now,” I said, “I want you, Happy, to go out front and take care of our horses.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, getting up outta his chair. “Is they all tied up at the rail in front?”
“Where the hell else would they be at?”
“Well, they could be—”
“Oh, shut up, Happy. They’re right out front. Go on now.”
“Yessir,” he said, and he hurried on outta there.
Aubrey brung me a glass a’ whiskey. It had tuck him so long on account a’ the place was real busy that eve ning. I picked it up and drunk down about half of it all at once. Damn, it was good. “Bonnie,” I said, “do you reckon you could get someone to whup me up something to eat?”
“I reckon so, darlin’,” she said, and she stood up and waddled over to where Aubrey was standing behint the bar. Then she come waddling back and set back down. “It’ll be right out,” she said. She reached around me and give me another slobbery smack on the side a’ my face, which I squenched up with a ugly look. Soon as Bonnie turned me a-loose, I picked up my glass and dranked the whiskey the rest a’ the way down. I lifted the empty glass up in the air, but ole Aubrey had disappeared. I reckon he was back in the back room seeing to my food. Bonnie stood up again, tuck the glass outta my hand, and headed for the bar with it. In another minute she brung it back all full up again. I had done satisfied my immediate desperate craving, so I just tuck me a little sip.
“Barjack,” said Sly.
“What is it, Widdamaker?” I said.
“What do you suppose that Cody came back here for?”
“Your guess is good as mine,” I said. “Maybe he’s a-looking for revenge. He can’t be thinking a’ robbing the bank again. He’s done lost all a’ his bad men trying. Now he’s all alone.”
“Is there any way he could have sneaked into town without any of us knowing about it?”
“Not much of a one,” I said. “He’d have to have someplace to hole up and sleep.”
“Widder Rogers has a couple a’ rooms available most of the time,” Dingle said. “She’s kind of on the edge of town.”
“He could have stopped there then,” said Miller.
“Could have,” I said. “We’ll check it out in the morning.”
“Why not now?” Miller said.
“On account a’ I said in the morning.”
No one said nothing more about it then. Aubrey brung me a big platter a’ steak and taters and some biscuit. “You want any coffee, Barjack?” he ast.
I picked up my whiskey glass. “No, I’m doing just fine,” I tole him.
Well, I got myself drunk as a ole crow and let Bonnie drag my ass up the stairs to our room, where she stripped me nekkid and throwed me in bed, and I ain’t a-telling what she done to me after that, except to say that it weren’t near as much fun as it mighta been if I hadn’t a-been so damned drunked up and so all-fired sore from all that damned walking. To tell you the truth, I don’t rightly remember it none too well nohow. Even so, I still woked up early enough in the morning.
Bonnie was still a-snoozing, and I got me dressed as quiet as I could and slipped out the door. I stopped downstairs and had Aubrey fetch me out a breakfast and a cup a’ coffee and a glass a’ whiskey, and I had just about finished up whenever Happy and Butcher come in. I let them get some breakfast, and then I told ‘em let’s go. They got up and follered me out to the street. Happy said, “Where we going, Barjack?” I never answered him. I just kept on a-walking and they kept on a-follering me. I led them all the way down to the end a’ the street to where the Widder Rogers’s place was at. I walked up to the front door, and my two dumbass depitties walked up right behint me. I knocked. In a minute the door was opened by the widder.
“Good morning, Barjack,” she said. “What kin I do fer you?”
“Morning, Miz Rogers,” I said. “I’m a-wondering, did you get a new guest recent?”
“Why, yes, I did. Name a’ Jones.”
“Is he still here?”
“Well, he ain’t here just now, but then again, he ain’t checked out neither. Has he did something wrong, Marshal?”
“I’m just doing some routine checking up is all,” I said. “Can I look in his room?”
“Come on,” she said, and she led the way and I follered and Butcher and Happy follered me. She unlocked the room and the three of us walked in. She stayed out in the hallway. First off, I just
stood and kinder looked around. A pair a saddlebags was throwed on a chair, and a blanket roll was tossed on top a’ the bed. The bed had been slept in and hadn’t been made since. I pointed at the roll and said to Happy, “Unroll that and check it out.” While he was a-undoing the bedroll, I went and looked in the saddlebags.
“Clean clothes is all,” Happy said.
There wasn’t nothing in the saddlebags to give us no clue neither. I walked back out and ast the widder, “Can you describe this Jones?”
She said, “Well, I think he’s about as tall as Happy there, and he has reddish hair and a droopy mustache. Kind of a little potbelly. He’s a nice-enough-looking feller, though. I can’t think of nothing else.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I said. “Let’s go, boys.”
But whenever we got outside, I tole Happy to find hisself a place to lurk around and watch for that damned Cody should he come back to his room.
Me and Butcher walked back to the Hooch House, and when we went in, I looked over the crowd real good, but a’ course, I never seed that Cody. Applewhite was dealing cards in his corner table. Before we had made it back to my table, I heared a commotion and looked around. Two of the cardplayers had knocked over their chairs and pulled six-guns. They commenced to shooting at each other.
“You goddamned cheat,” one of them yelled.
“I ain’t, you son of a bitch,” said t’other’n.
“You’re calling my mama names,” said the first one.
They was punctiating their words with gunshots. The noise was terrible inside, and the air was being filled up with the foul smell of burnt black powder. Butcher headed for the card table right fast, and I ambled my way after him. I counted twelve shots, what meant that each a’ the damn fools had full loaded their pieces. I call them fools on account a’ only a fool would full load a six-gun. Anyone with any brains leaves one empty chamber under the hammer. Them two was standing right across the table from each other, and twelve shots was fired and no one in the whole damn place, not even the shooters, was hit once.
Barjack and the Unwelcome Ghost Page 10