Blood and Bullets

by William W. Johnstone; J. A. Johnstone

  Dan Coswick came out of the Silver Spur and strode over to the marshal. “I told you,” he said excitedly. “I told you just the other day that Sterling was bound to make trouble.”

  “Yeah, you told me,” Firestick replied. “And then you went ahead and hired Frenchy to work at your place anyway.”

  Coswick scowled. “You’re blaming me for this?”

  “The only one I’m blamin’ direct is the fool who came here makin’ threats. Knowin’ it likely would lead to trouble, you could have held off and gave him and Frenchy some room to see how permanent the rift between ’em was. That’s all I’m sayin’.” Firestick held up his hands, palms out. “But you and me yammerin’ at each other now ain’t gonna change what’s done. The only thing left for you to do is decide if you’re gonna press charges against Sterling for shootin’ up your place. You can let me know on that. For the time bein’, though, you’d best get back inside and handle your customers—this is the kind of thing that’ll get their thirsts worked up yappin’ about it.”

  Still scowling, Coswick turned away and stomped back into his saloon.

  As Kate was taking Frenchy back inside the hotel, Victoria squeezed through a knot of people crowding the doorway and hurried out to where Beartooth was standing. “Look at your arm,” she said. “When he tried to strike you, he opened up your wound.”

  Beartooth looked down at the spot just below his left shoulder where fresh blood had leaked through his bandage and the material of his shirt. “I’ll be danged,” he said. “He sure couldn’t throw a punch worth beans, but he must have done that when he shoved my arm away.”

  CHAPTER 25

  “No matter how it happened, we need to get it fixed again,” said Victoria firmly. “We can either go find Frank Moorehouse or you can come inside the hotel with me and I’ll see if Kate has something I can use to re-bandage it.”

  Beartooth grinned at her. “You or Frank Moorehouse? Now let me think real hard on which one I’m gonna choose.”

  Suddenly Rupert Shaw, who had followed Victoria out from the dining room where they’d been having tea, was standing beside them. “I beg your pardon, Victoria,” he said, “but you and I have an interrupted discussion to finish. Don’t you think that matter would be best left to the attention of a physician?”

  “I assure you I’m perfectly capable of dressing this wound, Rupert. I’ve done so twice already,” Victoria informed him. “Besides, our town has no full-time doctor or physician.”

  Shaw arched a brow. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Yet another appalling condition of this bucolic hinterland you seem to find so appealing.”

  “Mister,” Beartooth said, his teeth on edge, “if I knew for sure what all those forty-dollar words meant, I’m thinkin’ they might piss me off.”

  “I’ll thank you to refrain from using vulgarities in front of the lady,” Shaw said stiffly.

  “If you don’t back off real sudden-like,” Beartooth replied, “you damn sure won’t be thankin’ me for what I do next.”

  Firestick turned from where he still stood close by. “Beartooth,” he cautioned in a low voice.

  “Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna hurt him. He just needs to horn out of what don’t concern him,” Beartooth said. As he was speaking, Hadley loomed up behind Shaw, causing the deputy to add, “And that goes for his pet ape, too.”

  “Stop this!” Victoria said sharply. “We all just finished witnessing one display of foolishness; no one wants to see another.”

  “It seems to me,” said Shaw, “that displays of foolishness are very common around here. Perhaps daily, judging by the two I’m aware of in only the short time I’ve had the displeasure of being here. All the more reason for me to implore you to get away from this dreadful place. If you will return with me to the dining room so we can finish our discussion, my dear Victoria, it may not be too late to convince you that—”

  “It’s no use, Rupert,” Victoria cut him off. “I’m not going back to England. Not with you, not ever. My home is here now and here is where I intend to stay.”

  As she said these words, Victoria—either subconsciously or perhaps purposely—pressed herself closer to Beartooth. Viewing this, Rupert’s expression changed. Turned hard and cold.

  “Now I see,” he said, his voice barely above a harsh whisper. “It is more than this wretched land that holds you here. What’s more, your deception in not immediately revealing this speaks volumes for your own awareness of how sad and ridiculous such an attraction on your part truly is.”

  “Was I you, I’d be careful with your words. You’ve been warned once,” advised Firestick in the same low voice he’d used to caution Beartooth.

  But Shaw ignored him. His eyes were locked on Beartooth, pinning him with a hateful glare. “And you . . . Despite knowing full well the comforts and fine life that await Victoria back where she belongs, you encourage her to forgo all of that? For what? For you? For a gun-toting, bloodstained ruffian who can never hope to give her a fraction of what she deserves? Do you know how selfish and loathsome that makes you?”

  “My choices are my own, Rupert!” Victoria insisted. “This is America. That’s the way things are done here.”

  His eyes narrowed, his chin thrust out stubbornly, Shaw said, “I have no further words for you, Victoria. Not at this time. Your overly romanticized foolhardiness has clouded your mind. I have to forgive you for that. But this cad. This seducer of the innocent—for him there can be no forgiveness. For the honor of your family’s good name, I must hold him to account!”

  Meeting Shaw’s eyes with his own flinty gaze, Beartooth said, “You gonna stand there flingin’ words the rest of the day, or you gonna do something to try and back ’em up?”

  “I will be only too happy to back them up . . . on a field of honor. Providing, of course, you have the backbone to face me in such a manner.”

  “Rupert, that’s absurd!” protested Victoria.

  “What the hell’s he talkin’ about?” Beartooth wanted to know.

  “Unless I’m mistakin’,” said Firestick, “you just got challenged to a duel.”

  “Precisely,” confirmed Shaw. “I naturally would not expect you to comply in an impaired physical condition. I therefore suggest two days from now. That will allow time for you to heal and for the festival that is so important to your community to be over with. We will select a remote spot—not the middle of a dusty street, much as that seems to be favored around here—where there will be no risk of inadvertently injuring any onlookers. The choice of weapons, either sabers or firearms, is yours to make.”

  “Hell, I’ll fight you any way you want. Guns, knives, clubs, it don’t make no never mind to me,” said Beartooth, rolling his shoulders, getting worked up. “And we don’t need to wait no two days or even two seconds. I’m fit to go right now.”

  Shaw snorted disdainfully. “Such a barbaric response does not surprise me. That nevertheless isn’t how it’s conducted by proper and honorable gentlemen—even if only one of us qualifies as such.”

  By this point, a growing number of people who had just emerged after taking measures to stay clear of the previous shooting were now drawing in closer, watching and listening to this new conflict that obviously was brewing.

  “That’s about enough with the highfalutin words and all the rest,” spoke up Firestick, addressing Shaw. “You seem to be forgettin’ one thing: I’m the law around here and I ain’t gonna stand by and allow some duel to take place, any more than I allowed the attempted shoot-out that just got over with to play out.”

  Shaw smiled thinly. “On the streets of your town, Marshal, you have every right to hold that line. But unless I am mistaken, your jurisdiction ends at the town limits. You’ll recall I clearly stipulated this matter between your deputy and I take place not on any street but rather at a remote location. That being the case, I don’t believe you have any legal standing to interfere. Unless, of course, Mr. Beartooth needs you to bend the rules in order for him to avoid fac
ing me as I have challenged.”

  The marshal started to respond but Beartooth cut him short. “Save your breath, Firestick. This insultin’ blowhard called down the thunder, I aim to see he gets what he’s askin’ for. And not you or anybody else had better try to stand in my way.”

  Shaw’s smile widened, showing lots of teeth. “Most excellent. I shall say good day for now. I and my second, Mr. Hadley, will scout the surrounding countryside and select a suitable spot for our meeting. We will advise same when you send word on the time and weapons of your choice.”

  Shaw turned and started back into the hotel. He paused for just a moment to make eye contact with Victoria. But then, without either of them speaking, he turned the rest of the way and proceeded on inside.

  CHAPTER 26

  Once again the town bounced back quickly from the interruption of gunplay and violence. With the festival only a day away and the fact that this time no one had even been shot, let alone killed, the incident became a subject for wagging tongues but without really affecting any important plans already under way.

  This was true for most citizens as well as visitors who’d flocked in from miles around to enjoy the celebration. For a handful of folks more directly involved, however, it was a different matter.

  Earl Sterling, obviously, had jeopardized the operation of his successful saloon on one of the busiest nights of the year. He had put into question his standing in the community and the continuation of the business going forward. However, even though Sterling was passed out in a jail cell and too drunk to know it, at least a short-term salvation for the Lone Star Palace presented itself in the form of Frenchy and Arthur joining forces to keep the place running for the time being. An embittered Dan Coswick appeared to be left with his much ballyhooed new entertainer no longer available to make her debut at the Spur.

  There was also no lack of tension between Firestick, Beartooth, and Victoria over Beartooth’s insistence on accepting Rupert Shaw’s challenge to a duel. While Firestick could understand, on a personal level, how Beartooth couldn’t back away from something like that, in his role as marshal he could hardly show support for it, no matter where the event took place.

  For Victoria it was as simple as her statement to Beartooth: “I didn’t admit my love for you only to have it put to the test mere hours later by you agreeing to risk your life in such a preposterous undertaking!”

  The weight of the pending duel hung over them the whole day.

  * * *

  “It’s not something I make a habit of doing,” Pete Roeback said as he leaned on a pitchfork in one of the horse stalls of his livery, “but as long as I’ve got the space available and you’re willing to pay a little extra to use it, I guess we can work out a deal. After all, you’ve been pretty good customers, boarding your horses here and then buying that new animal from me and all.”

  “We appreciate it, Mr. Roeback,” Charlie Gannon assured him. “It’ll allow us to stick around for at least part of the shindig tomorrow—the big picnic and maybe a smidgen of the rodeo—without skippin’ all of it or losin’ another whole day before we light out.”

  “I can understand not wanting to miss the festival, being as how you’ve been here in town for a couple days now and have got caught up in all the hoopla over it,” Roeback said. “Folks do have a mighty good time, I’ll tell you that. Ain’t sure why you don’t just hang around an extra day, but I reckon that’s your business.”

  “It’s temptin’ to do that, don’t think it ain’t,” said Josh Stallworth. “You’ve got such a nice, pleasant town here. But our brother is shorthanded on his ranch up in Kansas and we promised to go give him a hand. We already feel guilty for tarryin’ here in Buffalo Peak for as long as we have, not to mention plannin’ on stretchin’ it into tomorrow. We can’t wait another whole day.”

  “That’s right. The longer we stay here, the better we like it and find it harder to leave,” added Charlie. “And the pretty ladies you have in this town—whooee! We stick around much longer, I’m apt to fall in love and want to settle down forever.”

  Roeback chuckled. “Yeah, we do have some mighty fine-looking gals hereabouts. Even an old married rooster like me can’t help noticing that. As far as being a nice, peaceful town, though—not saying it ain’t, mind you—I’m kinda surprised you’d come away with that impression given the shooting ruckuses we’ve had in the short time you’ve been here.”

  “Everything is relative, Mr. Roeback,” Charlie told him. “We’ve been in some mighty rough towns and know how to spot ’em pretty good. Yeah, there’s been some excitement in the last couple days, but it’s easy to see that ain’t the regular way of things around here.”

  Roeback nodded. “Well, it’s good to hear you can see that. So you go ahead and buy your supplies and bring ’em on back here when you’ve got everything you need. I’ll be around. You can put ’em in the storeroom, then, where they’ll be handy for you to grab and load up your pack animal when you’re ready to head out tomorrow.”

  “We’re much obliged, Mr. Roeback,” Josh said earnestly. “When we get back, we’ll settle up our bill for use of that storeroom plus one more night for our horses and all.”

  Charlie and Josh quit the livery barn and ambled out into the afternoon bustle on Trail Street. The day had grown hot and the lack of any breeze left a fine layer of dust in the air, stirred up by the comings and goings of so many people.

  “Well, we got that taken care of,” Charlie said as they walked along. “Now all we got to do is stock up on supplies, get ’em stashed for quick grabbin’ when we need ’em, and sit tight for one more night. Then, tomorrow is the day we make our big move.”

  “Boy, I can hardly wait.” Josh smiled dreamily. “To think that by this time tomorrow I’ll have Miss Cleo hugged up tight against me in my saddle. Makes me ’bout ready to bust from havin’ to wait that long.”

  Charlie frowned. “How do you know her name is Cleo?”

  “I asked around about the strawberry blonde from the Lone Star Palace. Wasn’t hard to find out. I figure Cleo must be short for Cleopatra, that famous queen from way back in history. That’s how I’m gonna treat her, too, once she comes around to takin’ a shine to me—like a queen.”

  “Do you think that was a good idea, drawin’ attention to yourself by askin’ about her that way?”

  Josh shrugged. “Don’t see the harm. In the first place, nobody knows me. In the second place, a gal as pretty as Miss Cleo is bound to have plenty of men askin’ after her. Besides, when the women we pick go missin’ and everybody starts thinkin’ on it and askin’ around, they’re likely gonna remember us anyway. But they still ain’t gonna know who we are or where we went, so none of it will matter much.”

  “I suppose. Us bein’ strangers and all, we’ll come to mind for sure. Still kinda wish you hadn’t done that askin’ around, though.”

  “Okay. While we’re wishin’ then, maybe I wish you hadn’t told that livery fella back there about findin’ the gals in town pretty enough to take one of ’em for a wife. Ain’t that drawin’ the same kind of attention?”

  Charlie scowled. “Shit. I never thought . . . Gotta admit you make a proper point, though. I say the thing for us to do from here on out is to make sure neither one of us speaks careless anymore. We’re close to accomplishin’ what we set out to do; we don’t want to make problems now at the last minute.”

  “Amen to that,” Josh said. “I don’t think neither of us has done anything too drastic. But you’re right about bein’ extra careful all the same. We concentrate on gettin’ our supplies—makin’ sure to be real thorough so’s we’ll impress our gals by thinkin’ of everything that’ll keep ’em comfortable and well fed—then we lay low for the rest of today and tonight and be ready to give it our all tomorrow.”

  “You got it, pard. That’s the ticket, sure enough.”

  * * *

  The sun was setting, casting deepening shadows between slanted fingers of rock and into the numerous
arroyos that twisted through the foothills of the Vieja Mountains. A lone horseman, coming from the direction of town, rode into the mouth of one of these arroyos. He checked down the speed of his animal as the ground within the narrowing passageway ascended steadily and grew rockier. The horse’s hooves began to clack loudly, faintly echoing.

  After a couple hundred yards, the arroyo suddenly flared wider and opened onto a flat, oval-shaped area with stands of scrub brush and a handful of scrawny trees along the outer edge. Opposite these, the inner edge of the oval reached under an outward sloping rock wall that eventually rose up and blended into the higher peaks.

  Under the rock overhang, Black Hills Buckner and Romo Perlison squatted beside a low-burning campfire. Leticia Beauregard was on her feet, moving toward the center of the oval to greet Pierce Torrence as he came riding in.

  Swinging down from his saddle, Torrence growled, “It’s sure good to see how you were keeping a sharp lookout while I was gone.”

  “Relax,” said Black Hills, rising to his full towering height and moving forward from the fire. “I had you spotted out on the flats twenty minutes ago. Wasn’t nothing else movin’ anywhere in sight, just like there ain’t been all afternoon.”

  “And anybody comin’ up that arroyo, the way sound echoes in those rocks,” added Romo, “will announce themselves like a marching band beatin’ a drum.”

  “All the same, it’s better to know if somebody is coming before it gets to the point of being able to hear them.”

  “We know the coast is clear for the time being,” said Leticia, reaching up to loosen the bulging canvas bag tied behind Torrence’s saddle. “So the only sound I’m worried about hearing is that of us chowing down on some decent food you better have brought back with you—something besides the jerky and beans we’ve been getting by on for too damn long.”