The Devils Gunslinger

by Chet Cunningham

  There was some grumbling as the nine men gathered around a new fire.

  “Look, men,” Sully said. “I don’t like doing this any more than you do. But the fact is with Tracey out there with his rifle we don’t stand a chance of getting our branding started. Take your rifles.”

  “What do we do if we find him?” a voice asked.

  “Fire three shots in the air and we’ll come and take over. If he shoots at you, shoot back. Remember he already has shot me and Bill.”

  They rode to the edge of the woods on their side of the little valley, spread out, and began working up the slope of the ridge twenty feet apart. By the time they got to the top they had not found him so they spread out on the other side of the ridge and worked back down to the valley.

  They again found no one. Sully moved them to the next pair of ridges to the east. Again they spread out and worked through the light growth of trees and brush.

  Nothing.

  As they moved toward the third set of finger ridges that created the small valleys, Sully stopped them.

  “Anybody notice anything different,” he asked just loud enough so all of them could hear him. Nobody answered him. “Try again, sniff the air.”

  “Oh yeah,” one man said. “Wood smoke. Somebody has a fire nearby or up wind.”

  “Right and that’s what we concentrate on. I and another man will ride north sniffing and watching. If we find a fire we’ll come for the rest of you. We don’t want to spook this gent if he is the Captain.”

  “Must be Tracey,” Curley said. “Who else would be out here camping?”

  Curley and Sully both rode up the slope at an easy walk. They stopped every fifty feet or so, sniffed, and looked hard into the bush and trees.

  “Nothing,” Curley said.

  “Nothing so far but the smoke.”

  They moved another hundred feet and Sully held up his hand in an old Cavalry signal. Both stopped. Sully pointed. To the left maybe fifty yards they could see the glow of what had to be a fire. They both dismounted, tied their horses, and took their rifles. Curley took the lead. He was great on a hunt such as this. Never made a sound. He moved through the brush and around the trees like they weren’t event there. He stopped when they were about fifty feet from the glow of what now turned out to be a small cooking fire. They moved closer silently. Soon they saw a man bending over a small pot on rocks at the edge of the fire.

  “Same jacket that the Captain was wearing,” Sully said. He pointed to Curley. “About twenty yards over there then we move in. Have your six-gun out and cocked.”

  They moved forward without a sound. At fifteen feet away behind a thin layer of brush, they both stood.

  “Hands up, Tracey, and no more hidden guns,” Sully said.

  Captain Tracey jolted upward, tipped over the pot of food into the fire and turned slowly.

  “Damn. Thought maybe that should might have killed you. Evidently not.”

  “Not quite. Curley move in and tie his hands behind his back.”

  “Yeah, you want me to think that you have men all around me.”

  Curley fired a shot into the air and Trace’s head snapped around.

  “Damn, maybe you do.”

  Curley walked into the firelight, grabbed Tracey’s hands, and tied them behind his back with some stout rawhide strips.

  “So what now Sully? You going to hang me out here to a tall tree?”

  “Hardly. Decided to go the legal route. We got you on attempted murder by shooting Bill Banks. Also charge you with armed assault for shooting me. You know this is a hanging state. Hell, we hang a guy for stealing one horse. We hang anybody for rustling two or three cows. On an attempted murder charge the jury will be out about ten minutes before they hang you.”

  Curley had lifted a .44 Colt from the man’s holster. “Any more hide outs,” Curley asked. Tracey shook his head.

  “Where is your horse?” Sully asked.

  “You find it.”

  “You tell us or you walk with a noose around your skinny neck all the way back to my camp. Now where?”

  The Captain pointed and Curley ran that way and soon came back with a horse now saddled and ready to ride.

  Sully stamped out the fire. Together they lifted Tracey on his horse and tied his hands in front of him around the saddle horn. Then they tied his feet together under the mount’s belly. She could never throw him off if she tried.

  “At least take my trail food back. Got some good things in there.”

  Sully looked in the flour sack, grunted, and tied the sack in back of the prisoner. Sully led the horse out of the brush to the open valley and turned to Tracey.

  “You try to spook your horse into a runaway and I’ll shoot you dead before you get twenty feet. Understand? You played a dangerous game called kill or be killed and you have lost.”

  “I ain’t dead yet. My people in Memphis will come and defend me.”

  “They won’t know you are in trouble until you are hung and six feet under,” Curley said.

  Sully and Curley got their horses and Sully tied the trail horse’s reins to his saddle horn, then they moved cautiously down the slope where the rest of the search party waited.

  “Sorry, guys, we just didn’t have time to get you up there. He didn’t give us no trouble.”

  “Got the bastard,” Kentuck said. “Hope to hell we get to hang him come sunrise.”

  “First we get some sleep with what’s left of the night,” Sully said. “Most of you will start branding in the morning. I’ll be taking Tracey here into the city jail and file charges against him. Before we can get this drive underway we need them six hundred out there branded and healing up.”

  Morning came too early for all of them. Curley was even late with breakfast for the first time ever. Sully had tied Tracey to a tree the night before with him sitting down and leaning against it. Come morning he had trouble standing up when Curley untied him. For breakfast all the Captain got was water and some stale crackers.

  “Getting you used to the food at the jail in Connor’s Corner,” Sully said. “Crackers and water is all they give prisoners who are going to hang. They say why waste good food on a dead man.”

  Curley drafted two men to help him cleanup the kitchen, then they all went out to the big pen. Curley had four men put up the temporary crossed pole fence they could move across the far front of the pen. He had two more men building fires for the irons and had divided his crew up into two teams, one for each fire and branding iron.

  Sully got Tracey untied from the tree and made him walk around a while to get his blood running again, then had some men boost him on his horse and tied him on the way they had the night before. Sully asked Kentuck to ride along with them to town.

  “You’re my insurance policy in case old Tracey here tries anything fancy,” he old Kentuck.

  “Hey be my pleasure to put five hot ones in his hide if he tries to get away.”

  The branding started.

  The cows and steers bellowed in rage at the pain.

  Sully, Tracey, and Kentuck headed out the well-established trail by now for Connor’s Corner. They didn’t push the pace. It came down to about three miles an hour, Sully figured. At that rate they would ride for two hours. Sully was hurting. His shoulder was throbbing and now and then he had little black flashes across both eyes. He hung on hard that way. The lead line on Tracy’s mount was tied to Kentuck’s saddle horn. Sully hated to admit it, but it was all he could do to stay in his saddle.

  They came into town shortly after eleven o’clock and tied up in front of the marshal’s office. He came out as soon as he saw them. He looked first at Tracey’s tie downs.

  “This one in trouble?” the lawman asked.

  “Might say that, Marshal. He shot one of my men yesterday and put a derringer round into my shoulder. I want to charge him with attempted murder, battery, and assault with a firearm.”

  “Does he have a name?”

  “He calls himself Dan Tracey. Cla
ims to be from Tennessee,”

  “That’s right, Marshal. And I am a U.S. Marshal based in Memphis.”

  “Well, well, well. A lawman shooting up my county. Let’s get everyone inside and sort this out.”

  An hour later they were going over it for the fourth time.

  “And you say that you had a Tennessee warrant for his arrest but it got lost. Not very good evidence for an arrest. Your U.S. papers look legitimate enough. I saw the man in the doctor’s office this morning. The one he sad you shot yesterday with a rifle. He might lose his leg.”

  “Can I get a wire or a letter to my boss in Memphis?”

  “No telegraph here. The mail stage comes once a week. Was here yesterday. Looks like if Sully and Bill Banks want to sign complaints against you, I’ll have to hold you for transfer to the county seat for trial.”

  “But you can’t do that. I am on a legitimate search and arrest mission. It’s all legal.”

  “But you can’t prove any of it, can you Mr. Tracey?”

  His head dropped, his eyes went blank, and he shrugged. “Not at the moment, no.”

  “Then you are under arrest and I’ll take you to your cell. Oh, noticed you favor your left arm.”

  “Old war wound still healing. Does the county seat have a telegraph line?”

  “Afraid not. Closest one is in Fort Worth. Just haven’t got the lines run out here yet. You’re on hold until a circuit court judge stops by and hears your case. He usually gets here about once a month. Came last week so it will be another three weeks. You just settle down and take it easy. We’ll get this all straightened out.”

  When the marshal came back he shook his head at Sully.

  “That man was in here few days ago asking about you. Didn’t say he was a lawman, said he was an old friend. Well, let’s get those complaints filled out and I’ll mail copies to the judge in Gunsight. He hasn’t been very busy lately”.

  They did. A half hour later Sully headed for the doctor’s office. There was just one in town. A block from the office Sully grabbed Kentuck’s arm to hold himself up.

  “Hey, boss, you all right?”

  “Don’t know for sure, Kentuck. Get me to that sawbones place quick as we can.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Dr. Jonas Sharp put Sully on a long table and undid the wrap around his upper arm.

  “Son, from the looks of your color you well on the way to bleeding to death. Wish I had some way to pump some new blood into you. The medical minds haven’t figured that one out yet. Heard about one man back east who tried an artery to artery transfusion. You know, a healthy man with a tube unto his artery and then the tube going into the sick guy. Wound up killing both of them.”

  He probed around the wound a moment. “No bone fragments I can find. How long ago were you shot?”

  “Last night.”

  “Glad you got here in time. Now this is going to hurt some.”

  “Usually does, Doc. Just get on with it.”

  “Yes sir. Going to do that. Gonna put in a stitch or two, then some salve and give you some pills. Then you drink lots of water next three or four days. After I get you fixed up I’m, putting you down for six hours of bed rest. No arguments. Put you down if I have to strap you in.” He grinned. “Never had to do that. Not yet.”

  “Doc…..”

  “Yeah I talk too much. Takes the patient’s mind off his hurt. You ready.”

  “Been ready since last night. Do it.”

  “First a full glass of water. Helps. Drink the whole thing.”

  Sully did. Kentuck had his gun belt and Colt. He waved the cowboy over. “Go tell Annie at the General Store I’m here, then go get some dinner. Eat good while we’re here. I’ll be out of here in an hour.”

  Dr. Sharp shook his head at Kentuck and held up four fingers. Kentuck grinned.

  “Do that, Sully. You do what the doc here says.” He squirted out the door evidently glad to be out of the medical office.

  Sully tried not to think about it as the doctor probed the wound again, dug a needle into his arm, pulled hard on something, used some more salve, and bandaged it tightly. Sully blinked. The room was going around in circles. Dr. Sharp had a strange expression. Then it faded and Sully was afraid to close his eyes wondering if he would ever open them again. He did and everything turned a deep gray. Dr. Sharp grinned. That new sleeping powder he just got sure worked good.

  Sully woke up two hours later in the recovery room of the medical office. First thing he saw was Annie bending over him. He blinked. Annie jumped.

  “Oh good, you woke up.”

  “Didn’t know I was sleeping.”

  “A kind of sleep. Some new medicine that makes you go to sleep for two hours. Doctors use it when operating on somebody. Oh, dear, how does the arm feel?”

  Sully frowned trying to get his mind into motion. It took a minute. “My arm? Oh the one that got in the way of a derringer round. Don’t hurt at all, unless I move it.” He tried to sit up. Annie put her hands on his good shoulder and gently eased him back on the bed.

  “Doc Sharp says you must stay here for four hours. That’s two more. Now relax. I closed the store and will stay with you. We can talk.”

  “Can’t lay around here, got work to do.” He started to sit up again. She bent in, kissed his lips, and eased him back on the bed.

  “Hear that’s good medicine,” she said with a quick little smile. “Now you be good. You hungry? You missed dinner. I can go get you a ham and cheese sandwich?”

  All of a sudden he was hungry. He nodded.

  “Okay nurse. Make that one sandwich and two cups of coffee.”

  Two hours later the food and coffee were both gone. They had talked the whole time and learned more about each other. He was sitting up most of the time and said he felt fine. That was when he realized he was almost naked under the blankets wearing only a white Dr.’s office night shirt.

  A half hour later he was dressed and told the doctor goodbye. He came back and gave Dr. Sharp a new ten dollar bill.

  “Thanks, Doc. Don’t want to see you again for a long time. Not a pleasant visit, but glad you saved my life, Dr. Sharp. I’ll use that salve you gave me, and change the bandage in two days. No sling. I have your orders.”

  They shook hands and Sully found Kentuck sitting outside the Forever Saloon sipping on a warm beer.

  Kentuck looked up when Sully came near.

  “Well, the patient. Doc said you would be up and moving about now. We need anything from the store?”

  “That’s later. First we talk to the marshal and see how our prisoner is doing.”

  The town marshal grinned. “He’s calming down. Screamed and yelled for about an hour until he lost his voice. He’s doing better now. I figure he’s gonna be here for at least three weeks until we hear from the judge in Gunsight. Then who knows what he will want to do. I’d guess your rider Tracey shot is still with Dr. Sharp. He could testify here, so maybe the first hearing will be here. I’ll need a deposition from you about your shooting.” He brought out pencil and paper.

  “Just put down what happened and how he shot you, when and where. Just the facts. Have it if the judge needs it. We have most of it in the charges against Tracey.”

  Sully hated the hold up. He wrote out what he remembered of the shooting, signed it, and gave it to the lawman.

  “Good, looks like I’m all set to get a letter off on next week’s mail stage to Gunsight. Now good luck in your drive to Dallas.”

  “Yeah. Next project. Thanks for your help with old Turley.”

  “Been thinking about that. If he can get a copy of his orders to arrest you, the judge might let him off free. Considering he was working under lawful orders the attempted murder would not hold up.”

  “Same with him shooting me?”

  “Could happen. Which means he could come after you again with two or three sworn deputies.”

  Sully worried it over for a minute. “Tell you what. Why don’t you hold up on sending th
ose charges to the judge? Lose the letters Turley writes to Memphis. Then start scaring him every day or so about the horrors of the Texas prisons. After two or three weeks offer to let him go if he promises to leave the state and never return and never to come after me again. Think it would work?”

  The marshal grinned. “Yeah, like the way you’re thinking. Took a real dislike to this varmint the day he stopped by here. There was something plain wrong about him but I couldn’t pin it down.”

  The marshal tapped a pencil on his desk.

  “Yeah after thinking it over a bit I think that after three weeks of bad food twice a day and sour tasting water, along with sad tales about the conditions in the nearest Texas prison will be enough to change his mind about arresting you. I’m gonna give it a try. Course you never did hear me say anything about such goings on.”

  Sully held out his hand and they shook.

  “Thanks, Marshal. See you next time I’m in town.”

  The next stop was the store. Annie was waiting on three people at once and he watched her. She was extremely good with people and he quickly saw why she had made a success of the store. He was getting more attached to this lady every day. She finished the last customer and walked over.

  “Hi there shot up cowboy. How goes the herd?”

  “Branding,” he said. “You have anything ready for us that we need at the camp?”

  “You said once you wished you had a small meat grinder. Found one. Clamps to a table and you grind it around by hand.”

  “Good. Curley will thank you. We’re working on some of the calves for meat so we’re good there. What about apples and cherries?”

  “Apples I have. Cherries once a month or so. You heading back?”

  “Soon as I pay my bill. How much for the grinder and forty apples?”

  “A dollar fifty for the apples. The grinder is from my kitchen and I almost never use it. Has three blades for different kinds of grind.”

  He paid her. She leaned in for a kiss and he did a good job he wished he could continue.

  “Oh, my,” she said pushing back. “That could get to be a habit.”

  “It better. This fall we get it done.”