Strike of the Mountain Man

by William W. Johnstone

Lucy gasped in quick fear as she realized what he was saying to her.

  “Don’t be threatenin’ her with that,” Carr said. “The colonel was just real particular about that.”

  “The colonel? Who is the colonel?” Lucy asked.

  “You got a big mouth, Carr,” Briggs said.

  “She don’t know what I’m talkin’ about. Hell, you heard her. She don’t have no idea who he is.”

  “Just don’t say nothin’ about him no more.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Smoke, Pearlie, and Cal were waiting on a road about a mile east of the farm of Charles Woodward. They were expecting Dempster to call on Woodward, and when he left the farm, Smoke wanted to know where he planned to go.

  “Don’t stop him,” Smoke said. “And don’t let him see you follow him. I just want to know where he goes after he leaves Woodward’s farm.”

  “All right,” Pearlie said.

  “What if he leads us to the girl?” Cal asked. “Can we rescue her?”

  “I don’t think he’ll be going to the girl, but if he does, and you see the opportunity to rescue her without getting her hurt, of course you can do it.”

  “I’ll bet she would give me a dance at the next dance if I did that,” Cal said with a broad smile.

  “If she did, it would only be the one dance to thank you,” Pearlie replied with a chuckle. “Ever’body knows she has her cap set for Malcolm.”

  “Yeah, well, all I’d want is one dance anyway.”

  “You two get over there, on the other side of that ridgeline,” Smoke said. “When he leaves, this is the way he will go. And if I have this figured correctly, when he gets to the T in the road, he’ll turn left.”

  “Left? Town is to the right,” Cal said.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “The Long Trek is to the left,” Pearlie said. “You’re thinkin’ the Frenchman is behind this, aren’t you?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” Smoke said. “And today, we’re going to call his bluff.”

  “Smoke, you don’t really think the Frenchman is that evil, do you?”

  “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that someone has tried twice to kill me, and someone has tried to kill you two. I think the Frenchman believes that if he can get us out of the way, he’ll have a clear track to owning the entire valley.”

  “Yeah? Well, he don’t know Miss Sally, does he?” Cal said. “He might kill you, but he would still have Miss Sally to contend with.”

  Smoke chuckled. “Well now, Cal, that’s just real comforting.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s what I’m saying.”

  Pearlie laughed as well. “Cal, quit while you’re ahead.”

  “What’d I say?”

  “I see dust way up the road,” Pearlie said. “I’ll bet that’s him.”

  Smoke nodded. “I’m sure it is. I’m going on up to the house. You boys get out of sight.” He sat his horse until he saw that Pearlie and Cal were well out of sight, then he rode on the rest of the way to Woodward’s farm.

  Woodward and Malcolm were sitting in chairs on the front porch. Because they were expecting Smoke, there was a third chair on the porch, empty and waiting for him. At Woodward’s invitation, Smoke took it.

  “Is he coming?” Malcolm asked.

  “I saw someone coming up the road. I didn’t wait around long enough to see who it was, but I’m sure it’s Dempster.”

  “I’m sure it is, too,” Woodward said.

  “Have you got the money with you?” Smoke asked Woodward.

  “Yes, sir,” Woodward answered. “And I can’t thank you enough. But I have to be honest with you, Smoke, I don’t know how, when, or even if I can ever pay you back.”

  “I’ll pay him back, Mr. Woodward,” Malcolm said. “I can borrow enough money against my ranch to do that.”

  “Neither one of you will have to pay me back,” Smoke said. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get it back on my own.”

  “I think that’s our man coming, now,” Malcolm said.

  Looking up the road they could see dust roiling up, though as yet, they couldn’t see the buggy. Then a moment later, the buggy came into view, and they watched as Dempster drove all the way up to the porch. He sat there for a moment as the dust cloud rolled over him, but didn’t bother to climb down from the buggy. “I’ve got good news for you, Mr. Woodward. Very good news.”

  “Mr. Dempster, the only good news you can have for me is that my daughter has been found and is safe.”

  “Well, unfortunately, it hasn’t advanced that far yet. But I’m reasonably certain we aren’t far from a successful end to this terrible ordeal. I think you will be happy to know that I’ve arranged to get the five thousand dollars for you.”

  “Have you, now?” Woodward asked.

  “Yes, sir, I have. It wasn’t easy, mind you. It took a lot of talking before I could convince Mr. Montgomery to go along with it. But, I have the five thousand dollars.”

  “Do you have the money with you?” Woodward asked.

  “What? Oh, heavens no. It’s still in the bank. You’ll have to come to the bank with me and sign some papers before the money can be released. But not to worry,” he added with a big smile. “The money is there for you, and Joel Montgomery has agreed to make the loan.”

  “I’m not signing any papers,” Woodward said.

  “What?”

  “You heard me. I’m not going to the bank to sign any loan papers,” Woodward repeated.

  “But you must! Mr. Woodward, I don’t know if you understand the seriousness of the situation here. The ransom demand is for five thousand dollars. This is your daughter’s life you are dealing with. Surely you aren’t going to balk at signing a few loan papers, are you?”

  “I’m not going to sign any loan papers, because it isn’t necessary. I have the money.” Woodward reached around behind his chair, and brought forth a small cloth bag. He held the bag out toward Dempster. “It’s all here. Five thousand dollars. You can count it.”

  “What?” Dempster asked, his voice weak with shock and disbelief. “But I thought, that is, you told me you didn’t have the money.”

  “I lied,” Woodward said. “I wasn’t going to let the outlaws know I had the money until it was absolutely necessary. But, it’s like you said, Mr. Dempster. This is my daughter’s life I’m dealing with, so I’m not going to let five thousand dollars get in the way of her safety.”

  Dempster made no effort to take the money, so Malcolm took the cloth bag from Woodward, then stepped down to Dempster’s buggy. He held the sack up, but the lawyer still made no effort to take it.

  “What’s the matter, Dempster?” Smoke asked. “Why aren’t you taking the money? Aren’t you the agent for this?”

  “Oh . . . uh . . . yes. Yes, of course. I’ll . . . uh . . . I’ll take the money.”

  “Count it,” Woodward said.

  “No need to. I’m sure if you say it is all there, then it is all there,” Dempster replied.

  “Count it in front of these witnesses,” Malcolm said. “Mr. Woodward wants it well understood that the ransom money for his daughter’s release has been given to his”—Malcolm paused for a long second—“agent.”

  “All right.” Dempster opened the sack, took out a stack of one hundred dollar bills and began counting them.

  “Count them out loud,” Smoke ordered.

  “One hundred,” Dempster started, and he enumerated each bill until he reached five thousand dollars.

  “What will you do with that money now?” Smoke asked.

  “I don’t know. Uh, I wasn’t told about this.”

  “What do you mean? You were told to collect five thousand dollars, weren’t you?” Smoke said.

  “Well, yes.”

  “They must have told you what to do with the money when you received it. Well, you’ve collected the five thousand dollars. Seems to me, your next step is to put that money into motion, so Mr. Woodward’s daughter is returned to him.”
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  “Y-yes,” Dempster stammered. “Yes, that’s what I will do.” He put the money on the floor beside him, clicked at his horse, turned the buggy, and drove away.

  “Where do you think he’s going now?” Woodward asked.

  Smoke grinned. “I believe he is going to see Garneau to see what he’s supposed to do next.”

  “Pearlie, looks like he’s comin’ back from the Woodward place,” Cal said.

  “Get back down behind the crest so’s there no chance of him seein’ you,” Pearlie said.

  Cal turned his horse and guided him back down. The two men waited until they heard the buggy pass on the road below the ridge, then they rode back to the top and watched. They waited until the buggy was at least quarter of a mile down the road before they followed.

  “You think we’re far enough back?” Cal said. “What if he looks behind him?”

  “That buggy’s kickin’ up so much dust, there’s no way he can see us.”

  The two men continued to follow, then saw him turn left when he reached the T in the road.

  “Smoke was right,” Cal said. “He’s goin’ straight to the Frenchman’s place.

  Pearlie nodded his agreement. “You ride back and tell Smoke. I’ll keep on Dempster’s tail.”

  Long Trek

  “How did it go?” Garneau asked. “Did Woodward take out the loan?”

  Dempster was sweating profusely, and he wiped his face with a handkerchief. “I wonder if I might have a drink of water.”

  “Yes, of course. Mr. Reeves, get Mr. Dempster a glass of water,” Garneau ordered. Then he glanced back at Dempster. “Would you care for a little brandy?”

  “Just water is fine, thank you.”

  Reeves poured a glass of water from a pitcher that sat on a side table, then brought it over to Dempster. Dempster gulped it down, then handed the empty glass back. “Thank you.”

  “Now, how did it go?”

  “He gave me the money,” Dempster said.

  “Good, good,” Garneau said, smiling as he rubbed his hands together. “Then he took out the loan. Did you explain to Montgomery that it was to be a forty-eight-hour loan? I want to be able to redeem it and—”

  “There was no loan,” Dempster said.

  “What?”

  “There was no loan,” Dempster said. “Woodward had the five thousand dollars in cash. I have the money with me.”

  “I don’t understand. Where did he get the money?”

  “I don’t know for sure,” Dempster said. “But Smoke Jensen was there with him. As was Malcolm Puddle. It is my belief that one of them gave him the money.”

  Garneau swore, hitting his fist into his hand.

  “What should I do with the money?” Dempster asked.

  “I don’t care what you do with the money,” Garneau replied. He shook his head, then went over and poured himself a glass of brandy, swallowing it down before he spoke again.

  “This isn’t working out the way I planned.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  “You was right, Smoke,” Cal said. “Dempster went straight to the Frenchman’s place.”

  “Is he still there?”

  “Far as I know he is. I left so I could come back and tell you about it. Pearlie is still there, watchin’ out.”

  “Well, that confirms it,” Smoke said. “Garneau is the one who took your daughter. That whole loan business was just to set up a situation where you would have to pledge your ranch in order to get the money.”

  “Who’s this comin’ up the road now?” Cal asked.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Malcolm said.

  “What is it, Malcolm?”

  “That is Curly Roper. I had a brief... uh . . . meeting with him the day I arrived in Big Rock.”

  “Yes,” Woodward said. “I heard about that meeting.”

  “I know Roper. He works for Garneau,” Cal said.

  “I wonder what he wants,” Smoke said.

  “Probably bringing some offer from Garneau—my farm for my daughter,” Woodward said.

  “No, I don’t think so. Roper isn’t someone he would send for that,” Smoke said.

  Roper rode all the way up to the porch, then stopped. His horse began cropping some grass and he patted him on the neck.

  “What do you want, Roper?” Woodward asked.

  “I think I know where your daughter is.”

  “What? Where? Is she all right?”

  “Look, I’m not sure of any of this, but I have a pretty good idea.”

  “What did Garneau tell you to say?” Malcolm asked.

  Roper looked over at Malcolm. “Mr. Puddle, I know me ’n you didn’t get off on the right foot, and that’s all my fault. I’m sorry ’bout that. As for Garneau, that damnable excuse for a man didn’t tell me nothin’ to say. I can’t work for him no more, not after all he’s done.

  “Like I said, I don’t know for sure, but I got me an idea that your daughter might be in a cabin up on Ajax Mountain. The reason I say this is ’cause I know there’s a cabin up there. Some of us have used it now and then. Well, the other day a couple of us was talkin’ ’bout maybe goin’ up there to do some huntin’, but we was told we couldn’t use it no more. Then Briggs and Carr left with some provisions like they was goin’ to be gone for a long time. It turns out they left right after there was that article in the paper ’bout your daughter goin’ to Atlanta.

  “That didn’t mean all that much to me until today, when that lawyer come to see Garneau. Reeves—he’s the English feller that works as a valet—he overheard Garneau and the lawyer talkin’. Turns out Garneau was all upset that you had come up with the money, Mr. Woodward. Seems he had set up a loan for you, that if you didn’t pay it back in forty-eight hours, he would be able to pay it off and take over your farm.

  “When Reeves told me that—Reeves, he says he can’t work for Garneau no more neither—well, sir, it got me to thinkin’. I wouldn’t be none at all surprised if Garneau didn’t send them two, Briggs and Carr, out to snatch that girl, just so’s you’d have to borrow that money. I can’t be sure, but if I was layin’ a bet on it, I would bet that Briggs and Carr are holdin’ her, more ’n likely in that cabin up on Ajax.”

  “Mr. Roper, I appreciate you telling us this,” Woodward said.

  “Yes, sir, well, I just hope I’m right and that you can find the girl and get her back safe ’n all.” With a nod, Roper turned, then rode away.

  “Can we believe him?” Cal asked.

  “I think so,” Malcolm said. “It took a lot of guts for him to come over here to tell us that. The question isn’t whether or not he is telling us the truth. The question is whether or not he is right.”

  “It’s easy enough to find out,” Smoke said. “I’m going to the cabin.”

  “I’m going with you,” Malcolm said.

  “You’d better let me go alone, Malcolm,” Smoke said. “This is more my kind of game than yours.”

  “I’m going, Smoke, whether I go with you or by myself,” Malcolm said. “I’ve got a personal interest in this.”

  Smoke looked at the intense young man for a moment, then he nodded. “All right. I see how it might be something pretty important to you. You’re welcome to come along with me.”

  “What about Pearlie and me?” Cal asked.

  “I think maybe the two of you should stay here with Mr. and Mrs. Woodward. If Garneau went so far as to take Lucy off the train, there’s no telling what he might do next.”

  “All right,” Cal agreed.

  Ajax Mountain

  “Who’s that comin’ this way?” Briggs asked, looking through the cabin window to the right of the door.

  Carr went to the window on the other side to have a look. “It’s Templeton.”

  “Huh. I wonder what he wants.”

  The two men stepped out in front of the cabin to watch as Templeton rode up, then dismounted.

  “Did you bring us any whiskey?” Briggs asked. “We’re near ’bout out.”

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p; “You don’t need any more. You won’t be staying here much longer,” Templeton said.

  “Why not?”

  “Because it didn’t work out the way Garneau wanted. Woodward got the money for the ransom somewhere else.”

  “You mean the ransom’s been paid?” Carr asked.

  “Yes.”

  “So what are we goin’ to do now? We can’t just let her go. Hell, she’s seen us. She even knows our names,” Carr said.

  “Who said anything about letting her go?”

  “So, what are you saying? We’re supposed to kill her?”

  “You got a problem with killing women?” Templeton asked.

  “The only problem I got is, ever’body in the state of Colorado will be lookin’ for us,” Briggs said.

  Templeton opened his saddlebag and pulled out two packets of money. “Here’s twenty-five hundred dollars for each of you. That ought to be enough money for you to leave the state.”

  “Yeah!” Carr said, taking the money. “That’ll do it.”

  “I got a question,” Briggs said. “Since we’re goin’ to kill her anyway, is there any objection to us . . . uh . . . havin’ a little fun with her?”

  Templeton smirked. “Not as long as I’m first.”

  It had been a three-hour ride from Woodward’s farm to Ajax Mountain. Smoke saw the cabin at the base of the mountain. “There it is.”

  “What do we do now? Just ride up to it?” Malcolm asked.

  “No. We’ll tie our horses off here in the trees, then go up through that arroyo until we get to the other side of the cabin.” Smoke pointed to a steep-sided dry gulch that led up the mountain.

  The two men worked their way up until they were even with the cabin, then Smoke climbed up a little farther to take a look. The cabin was small, no more than ten feet by ten feet, with a single window in the back. There were no windows on the side.

  “Somebody’s coming to the cabin,” Smoke said.

  “Maybe we’ve made a mistake. Maybe Lucy isn’t there.”

  “Wait a minute. No, she’s there, all right. That’s Templeton.”

  Smoke watched as two men came out of the cabin and began talking to Templeton. They talked to him for a moment, then all three went inside.