The Raiders, page 11
‘Sure will. It beats working in that stable.’
Half an hour later their work at the buttes was finished. The three dead men were all carrying large amounts of cash. When totalled it came to nearly $6,000. Hewitt had no doubt that it was money taken in the Appsley raid. He was sore and felt incredibly weary but knew that he had another long ride before he could rest. He had to know what happened to the missing raider.
Sue was concerned about him and wanted him to return to town but he refused. He had to get on the trail while it was still hot.
They parted company then and Hewitt forced himself to ignore his pain and concentrate on the landscape that held the tracks.
Charley had no difficulty following the prints left by a mounted man and another on foot. An hour later they found Turner’s dead horse. Noting that it had been shot, the lawman thought at first that there had been some disagreement among the gang. Charley thought the same and ventured the opinion that they might find the missing man dead on the trail.
They came over a rise and found themselves in sight of the Bramley ranch.
Charley chuckled and pointed. ‘That’s a sight you don’t see very often; the Bramley boys are actually working.’
When they came closer, Hewitt saw that they had a pair of mules and were dragging a dead horse from the road in front of the ranch house. Both were so engrossed in their task that they failed to see the riders approaching.
Justin was handling the reins of the mules and glanced behind to ensure that his brother had fastened the chain properly around the dead horse. He saw the two horsemen and gave a croak of alarm.
‘They’re back,’ he called and sprinted for the ranch house.
Hewitt kicked his horse into a gallop and drew a gun as he raced to head him off. ‘Stay where you are, Bramley, or I’ll shoot.’
For the first time in his life, Justin Bramley was pleased to see a law officer. A sideways glance showed his brother, hands high, menaced by Charley’s gun. ‘We didn’t mean to shoot him,’ the big man whined. ‘They just came shooting at me and Elmer.’
‘Who came shooting at you?’
‘Mullane and the others. They just went crazy – came charging down the road shooting at us.’
‘Did you shoot back?’
‘Sure we did. We though it was them raiders that robbed the coach in Appsley.’
‘For once, you could have been right. Now, where’s the man who was riding this horse?’
‘It was Willie Freeman.’ Bramley pointed to a canvas-wrapped bundle some distance away under the shade of a pecan tree. ‘We was getting him ready to take to town,’ he lied.
Hewitt regarded him suspiciously. ‘You wouldn’t have been about to conceal the body so that no one knew he’d been here?’
Bramley tried hard to look the picture of innocence but, due to his unfamiliarity with that condition, he was hardly convincing. ‘Now why would we want to do that?’
‘Because he was carrying some of the money that was stolen in Appsley. Now don’t mess me around, Justin. I’m not feeling well and I want to get back to town. You can co-operate now or get arrested and go to town with us. Make up your mind.’
‘You can’t arrest us. We never did anything wrong. Freeman and the others attacked us. It was self-defence. You said yourself they was bandits.’
‘For all we know, you pair could have been in cahoots with Mullane and the others,’ Hewitt reminded him.’ It could have been a case of thieves falling out. Now, where’s the money that Freeman was carrying?’
Justin still tried to maintain his bluff. ‘Money – what money?’
The weary lawman’s patience finally snapped. He raised his voice but even then it did not come out as strongly as he had hoped. ‘Freeman was carrying part of the money taken at the Appsley raid. I intend searching your house and if I find any money there, you and your brother are going to be arrested for complicity in the robbery and murders. And if the bullet hole in the dear departed over there is not dead centre in front I’ll charge you with his murder too. Now, are you sure you don’t have any large sum of money?’
As though he had just remembered, Bramley said, ‘Oh, that money. We was so busy here I plumb forgot about it.’
They found the cash on a table among the dirty dishes from the day’s meals. It had been divided into two neat piles, the only things in the kitchen that were neat. While Charley watched the Bramleys, Hewitt counted the money. It came to just over $1,100.
The brothers looked like two small boys who had just had their Christmas presents snatched away from them, but then an expression like that of a coyote eyeing an unguarded chicken coop came to Elmer’s face. ‘Willie Freeman,’ he asked Hewitt. ‘Is he a wanted man?’
‘I don’t know. He might be. I’ll have to make some more enquiries about his background.’
‘If there’s a reward out for him, me and Justin are claiming it.’
‘Before you can be considered you need to give all the help you can in closing this business. At this stage I’m not interested in some calves trotting about with strange brands on them but if you are careful what you brand in future and tell all you know about your neighbours, I promise I’ll support any claim you make for a possible reward on Freeman. Remember though, those TG cattle belong to someone and if I see any wrong brands on calves after today, you pair will be in big trouble.’
Two days later Hewitt attended a meeting of the town council. Basset and Grey were there wearing their usual looks of disapproval. Three other businessmen made up the rest of the group.
The meeting opened with the mayor grudgingly congratulating the lawman on closing the chapter on the Appsley raid. He was secretly disappointed with a situation where it was not possible for him to claim any credit but he was determined to put a good face on things.
Basset was not so gracious. ‘Where’s the rest of the money?’ he asked with a strong note of accusation in his voice.
‘Probably spent,’ Hewitt told him. ‘Bandits have the habit of doing that. Think yourself lucky you got most of it back.’ He saw no need to be tactful with people who had openly expressed a desire to be rid of him.
Grey looked embarrassed. ‘We’ve been thinking about a permanent sheriff.’
‘You have one right under your noses,’ Hewitt said. ‘Charley used to help out Sheriff Anderson and he’s a good man.’
‘But he’s a half-breed,’ one council member protested. ‘White men won’t take orders from a half-breed.’
‘They will, if he has a gun in his hand.’
‘We were thinking of offering you the job,’ Grey said awkwardly. ‘If you’re interested we can work out conditions of employment.’
Hewitt thought for a while. The job or the extra money might not be enough to hold him in Appsley but a certain young lady had to be considered.
Two hours later the town had a new sheriff and a reliable, half-breed deputy who could be hired when needed. He left the meeting and hurried across the street to the Macgregors’ store. Trying not to look excited he strolled over to where Sue was standing behind the counter. ‘You’re looking at Appsley’s new sheriff,’ he announced.
Sue flashed the smile that had enchanted him since their first meeting. ‘That’s good news. We are very lucky to have you.
Hewitt shook his head. ‘I’m the lucky one. If I hadn’t found the base of that twenty-gauge shell and had a lot of luck after that, the Appsley raid would still be a big mystery.’ He paused. ‘That reminds me. There’s one more loose end to tie up. I have some sad news for the Bramleys. There was no reward for Willie Freeman or indeed for any of the raiders. Mullane had a minor criminal record but nothing serious.’
‘Forget them,’ Sue said. ‘The raid is history now. You need someone to help you settle in, someone who really knows the town.’
‘Are you volunteering?’
‘I might as well. You need someone to keep you out of trouble.’
G Mitchell, The Raiders
