The Widow of Hallam County, page 7
‘Nope,’ sniffed Zack, who appeared to have some kind of nasal complaint, as snot dribbled continually down his lips and he wiped it away with his sleeve. ‘I reckon a convict-cut is in order seeing as how he’s almost in prison.’
‘Yeah, that’s it,’ giggled Aaron. ‘We’ll put him inside to serve his sentence.’
They both grabbed hold of Tank and thrust him through the cell door to toss him down on bended knees inside. Zack stood over the sheriff and willfully began hacking at his hair with the knife, pulling away large chunks as he slashed without discrimination.
‘Will you look at that,’ Aaron whooped with laughter. ‘Ain’t that the finest thing?’
Lady Jane cringed and tried to drag herself away from Cy’s grip, ‘Let him go,’ she pleaded. ‘Don’t do that to him.’
‘You stay and watch,’ ordered Cy pitilessly. ‘This is what we do to them we don’t care for.’
The kneeling Tank sagged numbly; his head a sparse mass of bunches of uncut hair and covered with bloody cuts.
‘Looks real sweet, don’t he?’ asked Zack, standing back and looking down proudly at his handiwork.
‘You’re a regular barbershop prince,’ chuckled Aaron.
Cy sighed and grunted, ‘Time’s a-wasting, boys.’
‘Yeah, yeah,’ agreed Aaron, tiring of the torture. ‘He’s done now.’
Cy dragged a heavy Navy Colt revolver from the cross-draw holster at his belt. He cocked the hammer and shot Tank twice in the chest. Lady Jane screamed and held both hands to her ears at the loud bangs resounded in the enclosed room.
‘What you doing, brother?’ squeaked Zack, jumping away as Tank spun over backwards. ‘You nearly nailed me.’
‘Don’t you worry,’ growled Cy. ‘If I’d wanted to do you, you wouldn’t be standing now.’
Zack pouted and leaned over to wipe his knife blade clean of blood on the dead sheriff’s sleeve.
‘Now then,’ said Cy, holstering his pistol and turning to Lady Jane. ‘Let’s see here.’
Wide-eyed, Lady Jane stared back at him fearfully. She was helpless and she knew it, these animals cared little and could do anything they wanted to her.
‘According to little brother Aaron here, you have a certain Robert Lee Stanes in your employ. That right?’
Lady Jane was silent and only offered a brief nod of agreement.
‘Seems this Stanes took out our brother Joshua and left him for the law to take. Now he’s in state penitentiary and doing some heavy time. Next off, Stanes shot and killed our brother Abe. Now I liked Abe, he was a gentle boy and sweet with it, so that offended me. We’re their brothers and family is all there is to us so it can’t go unpunished, can it, you understand me?’
Lady Jane nodded dumbly.
‘Speak up, woman!’ roared Cy. ‘Usually women’s is wittering creatures who can’t keep silent for a goddamned minute, so speak out, I want to hear it.’
‘Yes, I understand,’ she mumbled.
‘Good, now I want you to carry word to this Stanes fellow. You tell him that the Coln’s are coming for him and it ain’t no use him running ‘cos we’ll follow him to the bottom of the damned ocean if needs be. You got that?’
‘I have.’
Cy pointed at the door, ‘Okay, you can get along now then and do like I say.’
Aaron was hesitant; ‘But McGregor said….’ he began.
‘I don’t care what McGregor said,’ snapped Cy. ‘That string of Scottish horseshit don’t mean diddly to me, we got our own business to attend to first.’
‘But can’t we?’ whined Zack, leering at Lady Jane. ‘You know…. first…. you know, can’t we?’
‘What?’ sneered Cy. ‘You want to strip her down and straddle her over that desktop there?’
‘Well, yeah.’
‘Nope, I know what you two are like and she won’t be fit to move a muscle after you two been at work. I want her fine and perky to give my message to Stanes,’ he paused and spent a moment studying Lady Jane, his cold eyes flicking over her from head to foot. ‘Maybe later,’ he allowed with a thin smile.
Lady Jane fled.
Robert Lee was on his knees clearing away the whittling wood shavings from the floor that he and Adam had been engaged in before the boy’s bedtime. Both children were now asleep in their beds; Susan Allen curled up with her beloved rag doll and Adam happily dreaming with the new pocketknife safely tucked under his pillow.
Lady Jane threw open the door and stood stiffly in the doorway.
‘What is it?’ asked Robert Lee, looking up at her and seeing the shock in her face.
‘They killed Sheriff Durham,’ she managed. Lady Jane took a deep breath and supported herself against the doorjamb. ‘They beat him real bad before they did it, Robert Lee. Stabbed and hit him, humiliated him, the poor man.’
Robert Lee climbed slowly to his feet, the wood chippings held in the cup of both hands.
He looked across at Lady Jane and carefully placed the shavings on the table before going over to her.
‘You look done in,’ he said solicitously. ‘Come on and sit down. You want some coffee or something?’
‘Something a mite stronger, I think.’
She threw off her shawl and tossed her purse aside, ‘It was terrible, what they did to him. I mean really awful and then they shot him down like he was nothing.’
Robert Lee mused on it a moment, ‘I take it you mean the Coln’s?’
‘Yes, three of them. Ugly, mean, vindictive critters and they say they’re coming for you, Robert Lee.’
He sat her down and crouched beside her, ‘You got any whiskey here?’
‘In the cupboard. I don’t usually but after seeing that I think I could down a whole bottle.’
Robert Lee crossed over and fetched the bottle and two glasses. He set them on the table and poured for both.
‘Here, take a sip. It must have been real nasty seeing Durham cut down like that but that’s the Coln’s, all they revel in is death.’
Lady Jane held the glass tightly in both hands, ‘They said to tell you it was no use running. Why is that, Robert Lee? What do they mean to you?’
Robert Lee avoided her gaze for a moment, ‘Did they hurt you?’
She shook her head, ‘Not so you’d notice.’
Robert Lee drew a deep breath and looked into his whiskey glass, and then he lifted it and took the drink in one swallow.
‘Happened a while back,’ he said. ‘Over in Millstone City.’
Robert Lee poured himself another glass.
‘Tell me,’ she said softly.
‘It ain’t a nice memory, Miz Jane.’
She reached out a hand and laid it on his and he stared down at the softly placed hand on his hard skin and wondered at the way she could gentle him so with her touch.
‘We was set on buying our own place. We’d been renting a while and saving our money. I’d been cutting timber in the hills for the lumberyard and Lilly doing the best she could with needlework and dressmaking. We had five hundred bucks between us and we thought that maybe it was time to put it somewhere safe, so we went across to the Millstone City Bank. That was about fifteen miles from our place and the only bank around those parts.’
Robert Lee paused to sip on the whiskey, ‘Fine day it was as I recall, sunny with them big puffy clouds up high. Lilly was happy, we had money and I planned to see the bank manager to talk about available properties and maybe make a deposit. We was stood in line waiting our turn when they come in.’
‘Who, the Coln’s?’
‘Yes, the whole bunch of them. They were shouting and hollering and putting the fear of God into folks. Shot down the bank guard, just put one in him before he could even think to draw his revolver. Millstone City was a quiet little place way out on the edge of Indian Territory and nobody expected that kind of hell. They started into folks, telling them to shed their wallets and whatever cash they had. Mister Boone, who was bank manager, he lets fly from behind the counter with a .45. That kicked off the shooting, some of the customers were armed and they all set to. Bullets were flying in every direction and it was a right old wingding so I pushed Lilly behind me, slapped leather and took my part.’
‘Sounds like a real battle.’
‘Well, I’ve seen some of them back during the war and this was sure the same kind of mixed up crazy chaos. But them townsfolk they weren’t up to that bunch of killers and mostly folk were dropping like flies. They were trying though, those poor souls but the Coln’s are born killers and merciless with it. I think it must have been a ricocheting bullet that clipped me and laid me out. By the time I came to it was all over.’
‘Were you all right?’
‘Not really. The local law had me pegged as a member of the gang seeing as nobody knew me around there. But I wasn’t functioning right from that knock on the head and didn’t argue enough.’
‘I guess you were too dizzy from being knocked out.’
Sadly, Robert Lee shook his head, ‘No, it wasn’t that. I looked around and there was Lilly laid on the floor. Oh dear God! I can remember it to this day. Nobody looks their best in death Lady Jane and Lilly didn’t look no better. A stray bullet must have caught her, it blew out most of her face.’
‘Lilly? That would be your wife?’
Robert Lee huffed a dismissive laugh, ‘No, Lord bless you, I ain’t married, Lilly was my twin sister. After our folks was gone she was the one saved me when I came back from all the fighting, brought me around to something like human again. She was good hearted girl and bright as a button, I loved her dearly.’
‘I’m so sorry, Robert Lee.’
‘Well, I swore me an oath then that those Coln’s were going to pay. I was going to send them to prison or damnation.’
‘But you said they had taken you for one of the raiders.’
‘They had but I busted out. There was no stopping me I was that riled. I caught up with the one called Joshua in Texas and left him hogtied for the local law. Then you know about Abe, had to shoot him down before I could bring him in.’
‘Thanks to McGregor.’
‘Well, he didn’t help matters.’
‘So now they are here and come looking for you?’
‘That’s about it so as I said, maybe I should be moving on.’
‘You know they’re staying at McGregor’s ranch?’
‘Are they? I wonder how much of a part he’s playing.’
‘In guess he will have sent for them in the first place. They said to me you were first and I got the impression that we were next on the list. So it doesn’t matter whether you are here or not, they still intend to bring down merry hell on the Lazy Z.’
Robert Lee sunk his head to his chest in thought, ‘Then it would be best to carry it to them before they strike us here.’
She looked pale and wan with her hands bound together into tight fists, Robert Lee could see she was trying hard to control herself and he bit his lip to think of a way to calm her.
‘Well it don’t have to be tonight,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you turn in and get some rest?’
She heaved a sobbing sigh, ‘It’s the children, Robert Lee, I fear for the children.’
‘I know, I see it,’ he said, meeting her tearful gaze.
Her lips trembled as her heart pounded and she nervously gasped for air, her eyes were fixed on him, ‘Robert Lee, I don’t know if I can….’ she mumbled.
He opened his arms to her and she fell quickly against him, clutching him tightly and burying her head in his chest. Robert Lee felt a tremendous surge rise in him, to hold this dear creature close against him. In that moment he felt all the instinctive joy suppressed for propriety’s sake expand in his chest and he gently tilted her chin up and kissed her on the lips. Robert Lee felt her satisfaction rise up to meet him as, for in that moment, she felt she could release all the defensive need she had built up in hardening her heart to be lone boss of the Lazy Z. It was a temporary freedom and Lady Jane, for the first time in years, let herself go and allowed another to take the reins.
They were in each other’s arms for quite a time until he released her and in sitting back he noted the sleepiness in her eyes and the flushed and mellow softening of her skin.
‘Do you want me to go now?’ he asked.
She lowered her eyelids and breathed softly, ‘No, I surely don’t.’
‘Come then, let me carry you to your bed.’
He swept her up and was surprised to find how light she was, ‘You’d better tell me where,’ he asked.
‘Top of the stairs,’ she said burrowing her head and kissing his neck. ‘And hurry.’
Chapter Eight
The next morning, feeling an odd mixture of jubilation and concern both at the same time, Robert Lee made his way down to the bunkhouse. He was refreshed after his night spent with Lady Jane and pleased that they had found in each other a completeness that had evaded both of them for most of their lives. But now the looming prospect of having to face the bunkhouse and advise them of the impending conflagration was worrying him.
The men were all getting dressed when Robert Lee walked in and he immediately faced a deluge of jibes and spurious questions. They all knew. There was not much that got past the bunkhouse crew on any spread.
‘Where you been, Robert Lee?’ goaded Cob. ‘That baby-minding went on an awful long time.’
‘Right into the early hours,’ added the smiling Raoul. ‘Must have been one hell of a night.’
‘Yeah, and all tucked in, no doubt,’ added Little Bass.
Even Big Bass joined in the joviality, ‘That is one tired and wore out stud we’re looking at here.’
Strangely, ever since the fight Big Bass seemed to have lost any jealousy towards Robert Lee and still approached him in a friendly manner. It appeared he had forsaken all thoughts of his earlier night calls with the widow and was prepared to let the notion of envy or spite slide by, instead preferring a spirit of comradeship than a show of injury to his pride. A strange attitude to find in such a bold and blustering fellow but it was the closet nature of the man and Robert Lee took it in good standing and appreciated the understanding gesture.
Robert Lee took all their joshing on the chin and smiled in reply before holding up both hands for silence, ‘Okay, okay,’ he cried over the hubbub. ‘You’ve got to hear this.’
‘What, we going to book the church already?’ cackled Cob.
‘Last night Sheriff Durham was shot down and killed.’
That brought a hush from everybody.
‘What happened?’ asked Big Bass.
‘It’s like this,’ said Robert Lee, settling his haunches down on one of the beds.
He told them everything, from the bank raid to his own attempts to bring down the Coln brothers, then adding the intervention of McGregor and the possible outcome of the combined outfits against the Lazy Z.
‘So you see the future here don’t look so bright. There will be blood, no doubt of it, so if any of you don’t want to be involved then it’s understandable. Lady Jane nor I will think the worse of you for pulling out if you’ve a mind, we can’t ask you to put your life on the line for what ain’t your concern.’
‘You an item with the lady now?’ asked Big Bass, eyeing Robert Lee cautiously.
‘I reckon so,’ said Robert Lee. ‘You okay with that?’
Big Bass shrugged and grinned, ‘Why not? Easy come easy go. We’re good, Robert Lee and as for the rest well, I’m a Lazy Z cowpoke and I ain’t about to quit on my place for some no-account deadbeats.’
Little Bass was a touch nervous, ‘That mean we’re staying?’
‘Sure does little brother, you’re with me, ain’t you?’
‘Well, I don’t know,’ wheedled Little Bass. ‘I ain’t too sure.’
‘Good you think on it, Little Bass,’ advised Robert Lee. ‘These men are killers through and through. It won’t be easy I’m telling you.’
‘Don’t take no thinking,’ bullied Big Bass. ‘You’re coming along of me, little brother. You’re Lazy Z just like the rest of us, and we don’t abide no rustlers, horse thieves or rinky-dink land hoppers, no how.’
Raoul stepped forward decisively, ‘I am with you.’
Robert Lee turned to Cob, ‘How about you, old timer?’
The grizzled cowhand grinned enough to show his missing teeth, ‘Ain’t had a good bust up for a long, long while. Reminds me of the time back in ’66 when me and old Hoss Whittaker of the Circle W was cut off and surrounded by Mimbreno Apache. Lord! That was a fight and a half, Hoss took an arrow in the arm and I had one pass so close I nearly lost my danged nose. Reckon I’d like to see one last showdown before I take my leave.’
‘Well, thanks, fellas,’ said Robert Lee; quietly gratified they had joined in so willingly. ‘You sure are a bunch of pals.’
‘What you got in mind?’ asked Big Bass.
Robert Lee drew a long breath, ‘Here’s how I see it; we have to bring the herd in. No telling what McGregor will play at, he might run them off or even shoot them down. So we need them close to home.’
The men nodded collective agreement.
‘Next thing is I want to strike first. The Coln’s are camped over at McGregor’s place so I aim to head over that way and see how things are. Anyone of you know McGregor’s?’
‘Si, I know it,’ said Raoul.
‘So what’s the picture?’
‘It is in a long valley between two ranges like low hills, the house and building are at one end where the land slopes upwards. There is good grass and a shallow creek that runs down the middle of the valley and water’s the cows.’
‘Trees? Any kind of cover?’
Raoul shook his head, ‘Only the hills the rest is all pasture. McGregor likes to keep his cows close so they graze in the valley where he can see them all.’
Robert Lee crinkled his lips, ‘That could be a way in, use the cattle as cover.’
‘Maybe,’ agreed Raoul. ‘It might be possible if it can be done without scaring them but there are an awful lot of them.’
