Stranglehold

by William W. Johnstone

  “Nah, we’re just goin’ ter have a couple o’ drinks is all, to celebrate him gettin’ out of jail.”

  Campbell nodded. “Captain, if you’ll go on in, you’ll see the leftenant colonel. Would you be for telling him, please, that I’ll be along directly.”

  “Aye,” Duff agreed.

  Having learned from Campbell that Duff had brought some more people with him, McGregor had arranged for two tables to be pulled next to each other so they could all sit together. McGregor stood so that he could receive Meagan graciously.

  “The sergeant major?” he asked, not seeing the sheriff with them.

  “He was called to the jail for a bit, but he said he would be here soon,” Duff explained then introduced those who were with him.

  McGregor made a production of holding Meagan’s chair for her as she was seated.

  “’Tis thanking ye I am for responding to my call for help.” He smiled at Meagan. “’N the quite unexpected treat of gracing us with such a beautiful young lady.”

  “Oh my, Leftenant Colonel. Sure ’n the words that roll so trippingly from yer tongue are quite beguiling to the ears of this wee lass,” Meagan said in a beautiful Scottish brogue.

  “Och! ’N ’tis Scottish ye be?” McGregor asked, surprised by Meagan’s response.

  Duff laughed. “Nae, ’tis skilled in the art of mimicry she is, ’n she’s but having a bit o’ fun with ye, as so often she does with me.”

  “I do hope you forgive me, Colonel McGregor,” Meagan said in her own voice.

  “There is nothing to forgive, lass, for ’twas a genuine pleasure to hear the native brogue in a female voice.”

  As was his custom, Duff had made a thorough perusal of the room as soon as they entered, and he’d seen a man with silver hair and a perfectly trimmed beard sitting at a table in the back corner. But it wasn’t his tonsorial mien that drew his attention. The man was wearing the gray and gold uniform of a Confederate general, complete with gold sash and saber. Sitting at the table with him was a very attractive young woman.

  “Colonel McGregor, may I congratulate you on your book? Gideon’s Sword was most delightful to read,” Meagan said.

  “What a wonderful thing for ye to say, m’ dear!” McGregor said. “’Tis not often that I actually get to meet someone who has read one of m’ books.”

  “How many have you written?” Meagan asked.

  “I have had two published, and I’ve been meaning to start a third, but have nae been able to because of the concerns that face me now. They be the same events that have led me to call upon Captain MacCallister. ’N without my full attention, ’twould be little I could write that would be fit to publish.”

  “From what I have observed of your writing, I’m certain it is good.”

  McGregor was embarrassed by the flattery and was spared having to respond to it by the timely arrival of Sheriff Campbell.

  “Sorry I’m late, sir, but I had forgotten that Bigby’s three days were up. ’Twas Cooper that reminded me.”

  “Ye’ve missed nothing, for our visit is just starting.” McGregor turned his attention back to Duff. “Captain, ’tis good that ye brought friends, but I think I should be for telling you what danger there be. I would nae feel right about soliciting your help without you knowing the full story.”

  “We’re here to listen to the telling of the full story,” Duff replied.

  McGregor folded his hands on the table and looked at everyone before he began his narrative. “The brigand who is the cause of all our trouble is General Ebenezer J. Schofield.”

  “I read in the paper that he was a general, and was surprised that the rank was for real and not some affectation.”

  “Nae, Captain, the rank is authentic, for in truth, he was a general, a classmate of General, later to be President, Ulysses Grant,” McGregor said. “And like Grant, Schofield was a Union general during the American Civil War. The affectation he has adopted is his insistence upon being called the Prime Director.

  “General Schofield threw it all away when Grant became president. I don’t know how much ye have followed the politics here in America, but the Grant presidency was full of corruption. Evil people like Schofield took advantage of the naïve trust of a good man like Grant. Soon they were enriching themselves in every nefarious scheme there was, General Schofield being the worst of the lot.

  “Schofield was caught and sent to prison, but didn’t serve very long because of his war record, ’n also because of his friendship with the president.”

  “’N now Schofield has added treason to his villainy, for he has raised an army to make war against his own country,” Campbell said.

  “Aye, the sergeant major is right.” McGregor said, continuing his story. “Schofield has an army with him. Schofield’s Legion, he calls them, ’n ’tis an actual army I’m talking about. He has at least fifty uniformed men in his army, perhaps more, complete with a well-organized military command structure.”

  “Uniforms, ye say?” Duff asked.

  “Aye, green ’n red they are, a little like those of the Bavarian Regiment.”

  “Yesterday we were accosted by five men. They were nae wearing uniforms, but they did tell us they were sent by this man Schofield,” Duff said.

  “Sergeant Major, did ye know of this?” McGregor asked.

  Campbell looked surprised. “I knew nothing of it. How did anyone know they were coming?”

  “A good question, for we’ve kept the visit quiet.”

  “Och, but we told General Culpepper,” Campbell said.

  “General Culpepper?” Duff asked.

  McGregor glanced over at the man in the uniform of a Confederate general. “That is General Culpepper. Sure, Sergeant Major, ’n ye would nae be suggesting that the general would betray us?”

  Campbell shook his head. “I would nae think that he would do such a thing of free will ’n evil intent. But ’tis indeed a mystery as to how Schofield learned of the captain’s visit. “’N remember, the general is in his dotage.”

  “Dinnae forget that there be other telegraphers in the sending of messages,” Duff said. “It could be any of them.”

  “Aye, ’tis so,” McGregor agreed. “And I cannae believe that General Culpepper, even unintentionally, would be for betraying us.”

  “What happened to the men that ye encountered yesterday?” Campbell asked.

  “Wang happened to them,” Elmer said. He went on to explain how Wang had slipped up on them and managed to disarm three of them. He also told how, after all five were disarmed that they were made to undress and walk five miles, barefoot, to recover their horses and clothes.

  By the time he finished his story all were laughing, McGregor and Campbell because it was new to them, while Duff, Meagan, and the others laughed with the memory of it.

  “Perhaps they were nae sent to intercept them, but to collect taxes from them,” Campbell suggested.

  “Aye, that could be, though normally such tax-countin’ teams are in uniform,” McGregor agreed.

  “Collect taxes? How can he do that? We aren’t residents.”

  “In your case, he would be for calling it a visitors tax. Schofield believes that he has the right to count taxes because he has already declared this to be a sovereign state. ’Tis his claim that the taxes are to support Schofield’s Legion and the army is for our protection.”

  “Protection, nothing,” Sheriff Campbell said. “The only ones we need protection from is his army itself.”

  “Aye, the sergeant major is quite right.”

  “Have ye sent for me to help you resist the taxes?” Duff asked.

  “Nae, Captain, we can resist the taxes, for we have nae paid them yet. But Schofield has already occupied every other town ’n village in all the Bootheel. ’Tis only Antelope Wells that is preventing him from conquering all the land, ’n making this a new country with himself at its head.”

  “Schofield is making preparations to attack the town, as he did just a few days ago in
La Tenja,” Campbell explained.

  “Half the male citizens and many of the womenfolk ‘n children were killed in that dastardly deed at La Tenja,” McGregor added. “Antelope Wells is the largest and wealthiest of all the towns in the Bootheel, and so far we have managed to resist the few demonstrations he has made, but I don’t believe that as yet he has brought the full thrust of his operational capabilities against us. Up until now he has been consolidating his gains, letting the other towns and villages fall into his lap, one by one. It is by that method that he intends to keep Antelope Wells in this stranglehold until we are no longer able to hold out against him.”

  McGregor looked at Duff and the three he brought with him. “To be honest with you, Captain, I’m beginning to have second thoughts about getting you involved. As ye are no longer in my command, I have no right to ask you to put yourself in such danger. I know now that it would take a veritable battalion to defeat him.”

  Duff chuckled, then took in Meagan, Elmer, and Wang with a wave of his hand. “Leftenant Colonel McGregor, meet the MacCallister Battalion.”

  * * *

  Across the street from the Dunn Hotel, Frank Bailey and Black Jack Ketchum, the two men Schofield had sent to town as a backup, stood in the front of the Hidden Trail Saloon, watching as the entourage returned to the hotel after dinner.

  “That’s him,” Bailey said. “That’s MacCallister.”

  “How do you know that’s him?”

  “We was told that they was four of ’em, ’n that’s four of ’m.”

  “Yeah, but how’re we sposed to know which one it is?”

  Bailey sighed. “Well, you know it ain’t the Chinaman ’n it ain’t the woman. That leaves only the old man and the big man. You know damn well that the old man ain’t MacCallister, so the onliest one that leaves is the big un. ’N we was told that the feller we was sposed to take care of is a big man with kinda reddish blond hair. Anyhow, even if we didn’t know which one was him, why we know which room he’ll be in.”

  “When are we goin’ to do it?”

  “Tonight I’ll climb into his room whilst you keep watch.”

  “MacCallister’s supposed be a hard one to kill,” Ketchum said.

  “There ain’t nobody that’s hard to kill whilst they’s a-sleepin’,” Bailey insisted.

  * * *

  Duff had no idea what had awakened him. He had gone to sleep rather quickly, the result of the long trip and having spent the previous night on the ground. But he was awake. He lay in bed for just a moment, trying to decide what had awakened him.

  There it was again!

  He knew the sound was real. He could hear a slight scraping sound. Immediately, he knew what it was.

  Before going to bed that night, he had lifted the window a few inches just to catch a slight breeze. What he was hearing was the window being raised much higher.

  Duff looked toward the window, and even though it was dark, the moonlit window was lighter than the rest of the room. He reached over to grab his pistol, then sat up on the edge of the bed and saw a man, backlit by the brighter outside, crawling through the window.

  Knowing that he could move in the darkness without being seen, he took his gun in hand and moved away from the bed. He stood to one side and watched as the intruder approached his bed. The intruder raised his hand, and in the moonlight, Duff saw the soft gleam of the blade of a knife.

  “What the hell?” the intruder said in surprise when he realized that the bed was empty.

  “A little late for visiting, isn’t it?” Duff asked.

  With a gasp of surprise, the man whirled around just in time to see Duff bringing the gun down on his head.

  Duff’s next thought was that Meagan might be in danger. After all, if someone broke into his room, what would stop someone from breaking into her room at the same time?

  Leaving his intruder unconscious on the floor, Duff disarmed him, then stepped out into the hall, moved to Meagan’s room, and knocked lightly on the door. “Meagan?”

  When she didn’t answer, he knocked a second time, a little harder, and he called her name a little louder.

  “Just a minute,” he heard.

  A moment later her door opened and she stood there looking at him with a questioning expression on her face.

  “Have ye an intruder in your room?” Duff asked. He knew that even if she did she would have to deny it, but he was trusting her to let him know by some facial expression.

  “No, no intruder. Why would you ask such a thing?”

  “Because I had one. He’s still there, unconscious on the floor.”

  Meagan stepped away from the door. “Come on in and have a look around, if you’d like. As a matter of fact, I think I would like it if you would come in.”

  Duff went into her room, lit the lantern, then made a thorough examination of the room, but found no intruder. “I’ll be for takin’ my unwanted guest to the jail. Keep your window locked.”

  “You can count on that,” Meagan replied.

  * * *

  Black Jack Ketchum had remained in the dark shadow between two of the buildings across the street from the hotel when Bailey left to take care of MacCallister. When Bailey didn’t come back after an extended period of time, Ketchum began to believe that things hadn’t gone well.

  His suspicion was confirmed a few minutes later when he saw MacCallister exit the hotel, carrying someone over his shoulder. Because it was dark, Ketchum couldn’t see well enough in the dark to confirm that it was Bailey, but he knew it had to be.

  What he didn’t know was whether Bailey was dead or alive.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What do you want for breakfast?” Sheriff Campbell asked. “Bacon ’n eggs, or eggs ’n bacon?” He laughed at his little joke. “Now, me, I’d prefer a bit o’ haggis myself.”

  Bailey sat up on the cot in the jail cell and experienced a bit of dizziness. Lifting his hand to his head, winced in pain as he felt a bump. “What happened? Am I in jail? How did I get here?”

  “How did ye get here? Captain MacCallister brought ye here himself. ’Twas slung across his shoulder you were, ’n sleepin’ like a baby. Well, ye weren’t exactly sleeping. ’Twas more like you had been knocked out.”

  “Knocked out? How?”

  “The captain says you came into his room in the wee hours of the night, bent, no doubt, in harming him in some way. But you dinnae get the job done, did ye?”

  “Yeah, I remember now. I was goin’ to kill ’im but . . . son of a bitch! He was behind me! How did he get behind me?”

  * * *

  When Duff and Meagan went to breakfast, they were greeted by Susie York, owner of the restaurant.

  “Oh, you two were here last night, at the mayor’s table,” the attractive middle-aged woman said. “I remember you.”

  “Yes, we were,” Meagan replied with a friendly smile.

  “I’ve just turned out a fresh batch of biscuits. They are wonderful with butter and jelly.”

  “And would ye be for having eggs, with a bit o’ cheese scrambled with them?” Duff asked.

  Susie laughed. “Why, if you don’t sound just like Mayor McGregor.”

  “They’re both Scotsmen,” Meagan said.

  “So is our sheriff. Did all of you know each other over in Scotland?”

  “Aye, that we did.” Duff noticed that the gentleman he had seen the night before, the one wearing the uniform of a Confederate general, was again at the table in the corner. And, as she was the night before, the young woman was with him.

  “I see that the same young lady is with the general this morning.”

  “Yes, that is his daughter, Lucy. She has given up everything to look after her pa. Why, any other woman would have been married by now, but she’s almost thirty, bless her heart, and still not married.”

  Elmer and Wang came in then.

  “You four good folks have a seat, and I’ll get breakfast out to you,” Susie said.

  Shortly after they s
at down, the young woman who had been sitting with the general came over to their table. “Captain MacCallister?”

  Surprised to hear the woman address him by name, Duff looked up at her. “Aye?”

  “I’m Lucy Culpepper. I hate to impose on you, sir, but my father has expressed a wish to speak with you.”

  “Aye, I would be glad to speak to him.” Duff glanced at the others around the table. “If ye would excuse me for a wee time?”

  Meagan’s nod affirmed for all at the table, and Duff followed Lucy to where her father sat, waiting for them.

  “General Culpepper, I’m Duff MacCallister.” The Scotsman extended his hand.

  To his surprise, instead of taking his hand, the general saluted, and he held the salute until Duff returned it.

  “Please, Captain, have a seat,” Culpepper said.

  “After the lady,” Duff replied, noticing that Lucy was still standing.

  “As befitting an officer and a gentleman,” General Culpepper replied as first Lucy, and then Duff sat down.

  “It is my understanding that you have served with Colonel McGregor before,” the general said.

  “Aye, sir, I have.”

  “I have been most pleased with the colonel ever since he came under my command. And I’m glad to see that he has added a staff officer in whom he has full trust and confidence.”

  Duff was a little surprised by Culpepper referring to McGregor as being in his command, but he didn’t let the expression on his face give it away. He did notice the expression on Lucy’s face though. She seemed grateful that Duff had displayed no reaction to the general’s remark.

  “’Tis pleased I am to join the colonel again,” Duff said.

  “Tell me, Captain, as you came through the perimeter, were you able to reconnoiter the Yankee troop dispositions?”

  “Yankee troop dispositions?” Duff looked over at Lucy and though she said nothing, the expression on her face pleaded with him to go along with the general’s delusions.

  “General Schofield, sir,” Culpepper said, by way of explanation.

  “Oh, uh, not entirely, General. But we did encounter one of Schofield’s patrols as we were on our way here.”