“Hey, I see Judge Wilde walking up to the hotel,” she heard him mutter excitedly instead. “Old man’s got no idea what is waiting for his last seconds on this here earth,” he said. “Let’s get out the window right quick!”
“We aren’t gonna stay and watch the show?” Tigh asked, sounding disappointed.
“I know you say this will work, but I don’t want to push our luck, just in case. If it does work though, and it kills the bastard, we’ll duck back in here and snap her neck,” Nate explained to his partner, pointing to Honor without glancing at her.
“Let’s just kill her now!” Tigh argued eagerly.
Creepy indeed, Honor thought about Tigh for the second time, also wondering if she was close enough to the table.
"No! I want her to watch her … I can't believe I am saying this … father, buy the farm," Nate said and grabbed Honor's gun belt from where it hung on the bedpost. He strapped it around his waist to her disgust and grinned happily. "Either way, I am taking this. I lost my gun in a poker game last night. Punk Carnahan from the stage company walked away with it. Goddamn royal flush! Come on, let's move, friend!"
As their bodies disappeared out the window, Honor could hear footsteps coming up the stairs and felt a grim determination come over her. She could recognize those footsteps anywhere. She had been hearing them her whole life at Half Breed Haven. Her plan had better work, she thought—one, two—she heard the key enter the lock—three!
Honor jerked her chair sideways as hard as she could into the table just as the door opened. The gun went off as the table was knocked over on its side as her chair continued to fall and she also landed on her side. She thought the gun's aim had been screwed up but wasn't sure until her father rushed to her side.
“Honor, what the blazes!” He said as he knelt next to her. She tried to scream through her gag and gestured with her head towards the window. Whip looked up in time as a grinning Tigh looked in, expecting to see the body. His smile faded as he recognized the threat. Honor’s father was already drawing his six-shooter and swinging it upward.
“Oh shit!” Tigh said.
The blast from the gun catapulted Tigh backward and over the railing of the brick verandah as Nate looked on, stunned. Whip grabbed her knife, that they had never even bothered to remove from her belt earlier, and cut the bindings quickly. Honor scrambled for the shotgun and seized the four discarded shells scattered on the floor. Quickly, she loaded the gun as soon as she unhooked it from the bracing. She pocketed the other two shells, just in case. Nate had already recovered from the shock and begun firing into the room. Her father had taken cover behind the overturned table and shot back at Nate. He saw Honor crawling along the floor and out the door with the shotgun. He knew she was not running in fear, not his little girl! She was going to end things. He knew all he had to do was keep this idiot occupied.
The judge and Nate exchanged fire eliciting screams from guests in the neighboring rooms and on the floor below. The din fell silent as Nate ceased firing, his ammo spent. Reaching down to reload and finding his fingers failing to feel the cold metal of the bullets, he was in for a shock. When he had snatched the gun belt earlier he had failed to notice there were no spares. Curses flew from his lips as he looked back inside and saw that the judge was reloading. Nate knew this was his chance to make his escape and spared no time vaulting onto the wooden fire escape ladder that was mounted to the side of the verandah and ran all the way the ground below.
Scrambling down, he was at the second-floor level when he heard a shout. It was the crazy mulatto! Somehow, she had gotten to the ground floor before him and was pointing the shotgun up at him from a little park-like area the owners had created behind their lodging establishment for guests to relax in. He knew he had no chance aiming at her even if he still had bullets. Apart from the wooden ladder almost making it difficult to stand properly and aim, there were trees around her that she could duck behind.
“Clegg!” She shouted.
Instantly frightened, he saw her raise her gun and fire. The belching sound of gunfire made his body tense, but he wasn’t hit … he wasn’t hit! How could she miss that? He thought with glee as he was pelted with wood splinters from above … but he barely noticed them. He was too happy to be alive and called out to her over his shoulder.
“Yeah, you missed, you bitch! Figures a colored wouldn’t know how to shoot a gun! Especially no woman!” He shouted down.
“I strongly disagree! It seems as if I hit what I was aiming for. Look up!” She called back and as he did, his blood ran cold with what he saw. She had blown away one side of the ladder near the top of the fire escape and she was already reloading.
“Nooo!” He cried as she fired again, conscious of her plan now.
Looking up, he could see the other side get blown away as a second shot fired. For an instant, the now un-tethered ladder hung in place, and then it teetered and began to fall. Nate screamed as it toppled backward and slammed to the ground, smashing his body with a loud crunch and knocking him out cold.
“Well, that was certainly easier than a tripod,” she said, curling one side of her mouth up in a smile of satisfaction. “Try and kill my father, will you? I think not!”
Honor approached him as people began running out of the hotel and gathering around, curious as to what was going on. One man took out his gun and pointed it at Honor, oblivious of the incidents that had birthed the current one.
“Drop that gun, girl!” He shouted behind her.
“No, you drop your shooting iron, boy, now!” A voice said, and Honor smiled. She turned to find her father standing behind the misguided man with his pistol pressed against the back of the man’s head. The man put his away and Whip holstered his own weapon.
“I’m Judge Wilde. Someone send for the sheriff to place Nate Clegg under arrest. He and his deceased confederate lying over there just tried to murder me. They might have succeeded if not for my daughter,” he said as he stepped up next to Honor and put his arm around her shoulder. The crowd murmured their surprise, but Honor ignored them, as she always ignored ignorant people.
“Would you like to take bets on how many broken bones this jasper has, Daddy?” She asked conversationally. Now that it was over, life was back to normal.
“Hopefully in the double digits. When he is well enough, I will make sure he gets a nice cell next to his brother,” her father said with a smile. She couldn’t believe that she had almost lost him a few minutes ago, neither was she sure she could ever live on, knowing she didn’t save him, had she failed.
“What do you think of this new shotgun of mine?” she asked him with a smile. “After it’s no longer evidence in his trial, I think I will give it to Blue River. Do you think he will like it?”
“I am sure he will. I tell you, Buttercup, we will wrap things up with the sheriff quickly. I promised you a nice dinner before we leave tomorrow and you are going to get it. Let’s go wait out front for him.”
Honor retrieved her gun and holster, and then linked arms with her father once more. They strolled around the building as the crowd looked on in wonder.
CHAPTER 11
* * *
TRIPLE W. FENCELINE
OUTSIDE ALAMIEDA
ARIZONA TERRITORY
The three men had left Alamieda in quite a state as they found their lives had taken a turn for the worse, and they were not sure what to do about it. Out of money and out of luck they trudged along in the heat discussing the vagaries of life.
“Man, I miss the old life with the Little Creek gang. Them were the days, I tell ya,’ Manny, the big guy with the shaved head said fondly. There were murmurs of agreement from his compatriots.
“You can’t say we didn’t try and make an honest go of it, though, right?” Luke said thoughtfully. Or as thoughtfully as the tall, thin, bearded man ever spoke. He wasn’t that bright.
“Yeah, look what lumberjacking on Cedar Ledge for that band of half breeds got us,” Darin said in disgust. He was
a short fat man with a receding hair line and the only one not wearing a hat.
“No kiddin’. You was right about that injun, Blue whatever, not being right to run a lumber operation. No self-respecting white man would allow that. Not your fault that last week that Oriental bitch and her Mexican sister were passing by the bunkhouse right then and heard what we was sayin’. They had no right to fire us like they done, jeez,” Luke said with conviction as Manny snorted.
“Yeah, fault or not, that friggin’ family is gonna be able to keep us from getting work anywhere in this region. After they put the word out, everyone does what that old judge says. It’s disgusting the way he spent a lifetime frolicking with all sorts of colored women and fathering a brood by them to boot!” Manny said. There was more agreement from the others.
"Just wish the poker game had gone better. I miss my horse, Gimpy," Darin grumbled. On that matter, they all agreed as well. One night of drinking and they had lost their horses in a poker game. That was why they were walking along the dusty road, broke and without any way of making coin. Then out of nowhere, Manny gave a happy shout.
"I just remembered somethin' boys. You recollect that guy I told ya about, the one I was friends with when I did my first stretch at Claymore. Malcolm, Malcolm Forest?” he asked.
“Yeah, so, what about him?” Luke asked squinting at his friend.
“He’s running a gang up on McClatchy Bluff. I heard they lost a few men in a bank job, and I reckon they could use some hands. He’ll hire us, me and him were tight in Claymore,” Manny confided to them. Immediately their spirits rose, and Darin even started whistling.
"Hey guys, ya know if we cross over the Triple W, it will save us twenty miles of boot leather and get us to McClatchy quicker. Let's go!" Luke said, and they headed for the wooden barrier that was a hundred yards away. For a moment there was some discussion among the trio, but in the end, they ignored the “trespassers will be shot” sign and quickly scaled the fence. It was a huge piece of property, and they felt certain no one would see them. At least that was what Luke told them.
They walked along for the better part of an hour, heading for a nearby scrub brush-laden hill and the trail leading over it when they heard slow moving hoof beats. They stopped, and around a bend, coming out from behind some mesquite trees, came a lone horseman. They easily pegged him as a Mexican man who was astride a black stallion. He was wearing red and black and carried a repeater long rifle across his thighs, looking at them severely.
“What are you doing here? You don’t belong,” he said, and the three men looked at each other. Luke stepped up gamely.
“We is just cuttin’ over to McClatchy Bluff. Got a prospect for work thereabouts,” Luke told the dangerous looking man. Manny and Darin glanced around nervously.
“Not across the Triple W you ain’t, amigos,” the man said.
“Who are you?” Luke demanded. He didn’t like the man’s threatening tone.
“I’m Ramone, and I decide for the syndicate who walks on this land and who don’t. You don’t,” he told them.
“Look we just …” that was as far as Darin got. The Mexican raised his rifle at lightning speed and began firing. Always the fastest from their days holding up banks, Manny drew his gun out of his holster, but that was as far as he got when he caught one in the chest. Within seconds the triple homicide was over and the men’s crumpled bodies lay staining the sands red beneath them. With a sigh, Ramone got down from his horse and walked over to the fresh corpses.
“Some hombres shouldn’t be allowed out on their own,” he told the dead men. He heard a horse approaching at full gallop and turned about to bring his rifle up, but he saw it was just the fellow Triple W employee he had been partnered with on patrol duty this day.
“What happened, Ramone?” the man asked. Ramone shrugged and gestured at the three dead men.
“Trespassers,” he responded. Jeb frowned slightly.
“Didja have to kill ’em?” he asked, looking at the bodies. One had got it in the chest, and the other two in their heads.
“We don’t know how long they been here. They could have seen something they shouldn’t. No way to be sure but this. What’s wrong with you anyway? Goin’ soft, Jeb?” Ramone asked humorously.
“Hell, no. Just askin’, man,” Jeb answered defensively. Ramone nodded and studied the area around them a moment.
“Let’s get some shovels,” he finally said. “The vultures are going to go hungry this day, my friend.”
***
Honor Elizabeth guided her father's elaborate coach down the road with a slight smile. They had left the better part of the countryside where there were more houses and had taken the large road where only a few homes existed as they journeyed further. In the distance, the grasslands had white birds feeding and hurtling around playfully. Just behind the birds, a beautiful skyline formed a dashing light brown color that made it seem like the sky ended with a long stroke that connected it to the earth beneath it. Admiring nature often excited Honor and she always marveled at the views as she traveled.
She also loved driving her father, especially in the coach which was the closest thing, besides his children, he would describe as his pride and joy. Years ago, he had traveled to Los Vallies Tres to purchase it from the Yberra Coachworks, the finest coach makers in all of Mexico. He had it custom built with the glossy black paint and the rose red trim with wide windows which made it look most striking. On this day, despite its plush velvet interior, her father rode next to her instead of inside the coach. Of course, she thought to herself with a sigh, he always loved to do that, but only when she was his driver. Distracting herself, she brushed one of her curly ringlets back off her cheek and thought about their current journey back home. They were almost there!
Returning to Alamieda was a welcome feeling. She was aware that being a half-colored woman made her exotic to many in the town, especially since her figure was an extreme hourglass that drove men crazy. As if to prove her right, she watched with a smile as a passing rider glanced at her and then away and back again. Honor was used to it. She tilted her head towards her father and smiled again.
As a younger man, he had attracted a series of women that went on to be the mothers of his children, and it was easy to see why even now. Her father was tall and strong, despite now being in his early sixties. That silver hair of his and twinkling blue eyes made him approachable. In the courtroom, he could be equal parts convivial and stern, depending on the circumstances. Honor loved him deeply for so many reasons, the least of which he had spent her entire life assuring her she was not to blame when Miss Lizzie's struggle to give birth to her had claimed her life.
Still thinking of home and family, she returned her eyes to the road and shifted in her seat, beginning to feel the heat of the day.
“Daddy, are you sure you do not wish to be inside? It is starting to get truly hot out here,” she said to her father.
“And miss my chance to be talking to my little Buttercup? I shall pass on that. Thank you very much!” he responded.
Blushing, she smiled and glanced at him, thinking how long ago she had picked up her favorite expression from him.
“You are so sweet; you always have been!” She told him lovingly.
“When it comes to you, Honor Elizabeth, it’s as easy as breathing. It pleases me so much that your mother’s spirit shines through in you. Honor, you were her final and best gift to me. If it were humanly possible, I believe she would have loved you even more than I do,” her father said.
“And I would love her deeply as well,” she responded softly. Whip looked down for a moment and then fought to move away from the past pain of Miss Lizzie’s death.
“I will be so glad to get home, after all the business with the trial and Nate Clegg. I also understand you will want to as well, as I know even before all that happened with him, you didn’t care for the hotel we stayed at because of that first night in the restaurant,” he said.
“Well, they did
attempt to give us that whole “we don’t serve colored people” stuff we always run into,” Honor responded honestly.
“You know, every time an establishment tries that, I make them back down,” he said proudly.
“Because you are the best daddy in the whole world!” She told him and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
“Another reason to get home will be maybe, you can keep out of trouble for a bit. It seems you had your fill with the late Mister Branch and those two ruffians we dealt with. I hope to hell your sisters aren’t getting themselves into any trouble on their trip. You all have a knack for it you know!” he smiled.
“I wonder if they will have returned yet from Mexico. Do you think the girls will be back from their trip? I know Catalina will want to stay a while to visit her kin,” Honor asked her father.
“You know your sisters; it depends on what kind of fun they are having. I’m sorry you missed out on going because you were driving me,” he told her.
“I have been there before and I will go again. You needed me and that was all there was to it!” she said firmly, in response. “Besides, I would have missed all the fun with Mr. Clegg and Mr. Tigh.”
“That aside, you know, one of the men could have taken me,” he pointed out. She glanced at him sideways. He had always used that argument.
“How many times are we going to have this discussion, Daddy?” She asked and smiled a little. They both started laughing and a while after, Honor glanced down the road to notice traffic approaching them.
“Here comes the stage from Santa Louise to Alamieda. My word! They are moving at a good clip,” she commented.
“Probably behind schedule,” her father told her.
"No doubt. Not everyone can run a stage line as efficiently as Quillan Dodge up in Godspell if I do say so myself," she said, smiling inwardly at the thought of her ex-lover. They had been broken up sometime now, but it seemed whenever they found themselves alone in a room together, they wound up in carnal bliss.
The Forbidden Ranch: Honor Elizabeth Wilde Tale 0f Suspense (Half Breed Haven Book 5) Page 7