by Saran Essex
Leroy laughed, ‘I ain’t so sure that’ll work!’
Lonzo asked him to try and copy his whistle. Leroy attempted to whistle the tunes in exactly the same way that Lonzo had whistled them, and with the same odd notes included. He whistled them several times until Lonzo nodded his approval.
‘I still ain’t so sure it’ll work,’ Leroy remarked, ‘What if we’re miles away from each other? We wouldn’t hear it!’
Lonzo shrugged, and pulled on his horse’s reins to ride away into the meadows. ‘Then you’ll just have to fire the two shots.’
They met up at the shack in the evening, when they lit the stove and cooked a meal. Lonzo yet again surprised Leroy with his cooking skills. After they had eaten, they took the two chairs outside on to the porch to sit in the cool of the evening.
Lonzo had brought his fiddle with him, and after some coaxing from Leroy, he played a few tunes. Leroy sometimes joined in the tunes on his harmonica, and Lonzo would just raise his eyebrows when Leroy played the wrong notes. Later, they took turns in watching the cattle throughout the night. One of them would do part of the night watch for up to two hours, and the other would take over for the next two hours.
Just after sunrise on the third day at the shack, Lonzo woke up and brewed some coffee. He had a gulp of the strong brew and glanced across the room at Leroy who was still asleep. Leroy had done the last watch of the night and had only been asleep for a couple of hours. Lonzo went over to him to wake him up to ride out and keep watch over the cattle, but then he had a change of heart, and decided to leave him to sleep. He took a small supply of biscuits and dried meat with him, and left the shack.
About thirty minutes or so after Lonzo had ridden away from the shack, four men were riding along one of the narrow and level strips of land that were almost hidden in the rugged terrain that separated the Cottonwood ranch land from the Baxter range. The width of the strip allowed for two men to ride alongside each other, with a few feet to spare on each side. The men were riding slowly and keeping a watchful look around them. They were on their way to seek out and rustle a small bunch of cattle from Caleb Baxter, as they had been doing at various times during the past three weeks.
The four men were Archie Burdett, and his usual three companions, Eli Slater, Bill Gooch and Seth Roebuck.
The level strip of land came to an end just yards away from the line shack, and Burdett pulled his horse to a sharp stop when he spotted Leroy’s horse in the corral next to the shack. When Burdett saw it, he guessed that a ranch hand of Baxter’s was staying in the shack for the purpose of watching over the cattle.
Burdett’s three cohorts hastily reined in when he did. Burdett said to them with annoyance in his voice, ‘One of Baxter’s ranch hands must be staying in the shack.’
Eli Slater rubbed his whiskery chin and said gruffly, ‘Yeah, Baxter must be on to us.’
Seth Roebuck suggested sneaking up to the shack to take the man inside by surprise.
‘No’, Burdett said with a shake of his head, ‘That’s too risky, he might hear us. We’ll stay out of sight somewhere nearby and catch him unawares when he leaves the shack.’
His three companions nodded in agreement, and the four men dismounted. They led their horses past the line shack and on to the rough trail that led into the grassland, and hid amongst a clump of cottonwood trees on the right of the trail.
Leroy woke up to the smell of coffee. There was no sign of Lonzo in the shack, and he guessed that he had left him to sleep.
Leroy quickly finished dressing. The coffee was still warm, and he poured some of the brew into a tin mug and took a long drink. He nibbled a few biscuits, and took a handful with him as he left the shack and headed for the corral and his horse. A few minutes later he was riding along the rough stony trail towards the grassland. He finished nibbling on a biscuit as he rode slowly towards a bunch of cottonwood trees up ahead of him on the right of the trail.
Obviously Leroy didn’t know that Burdett and his cohorts were hiding and watching in the trees, but as he rode closer, and was roughly eight to ten feet away, he thought he heard a horse neighing from in amongst the trees. He pulled up his horse and stared at the trees. He couldn’t see anything suspicious, but he felt very uneasy. He didn’t want to risk making a move towards his gun, and he tried to remember the whistle signal between himself and Lonzo.
He started to whistle a few notes from ‘Oh Susannah’, then switched to ‘Sweet Betsy from Pike’, adding in the odd notes that Lonzo had taught him, and hoping that he had remembered the signal correctly. He had just started to whistle ‘Oh Susanna’ again when Archie Burdett and Seth Roebuck stepped out from the trees with their guns drawn.
Burdett had instructed Slater and Gooch to stay in the trees out of sight and to be ready to give help if needed, for although they had only seen one horse in the corral, they knew there was still a possibility that another of Caleb Baxter’s ranch hands might be staying at the shack with Leroy, and that he might be riding somewhere nearby.
Leroy did not try to reach for his gun – he knew he would never make it – but it was not in his nature to panic. He sat still on his horse and gave a cheerful smile to Burdett and Roebuck as they walked up to him and stood in front of his horse.
‘Good morning,’ Leroy said pleasantly to Burdett and Roebuck.
Burdett grinned: he was inwardly elated that it was Leroy who was staying in the shack, and that he had him at a disadvantage. He had not forgotten what had happened at the saloon in Green River, or the incidents in the past involving himself, Leroy and Caleb Baxter. He snarled out, ‘It’s not such a good morning for you, Parker: throw down your gun and don’t try anything!’
Burdett intended to kill Leroy, but he was going to make him suffer first. Leroy’s smile disappeared as he slowly took his gun from out of its holster and threw it to the ground.
Burdett carefully stepped around from the front of Leroy’s horse to stand beside it. He kept his gun on Leroy all the time, then told him in a sharp tone to get down and to put his hands up. Leroy slowly climbed down from his horse. He stood in front of Burdett and his threatening gun, and raised his hands up high above his head.
Burdett stepped up closer to Leroy, and then without warning, rammed his left fist viciously into Leroy’s stomach. Leroy doubled over, gasping for air and moaning in pain while holding his stomach. Burdett said callously, ‘That’s for all the grief you caused me in Green River!’
Roebuck moved round from where he had been standing at the front of Leroy’s horse to stand beside Burdett. The two Cottonwood men grinned at Leroy’s suffering. Leroy was still bent over, holding his throbbing stomach muscles and gasping for air.
‘Stand up straight, Parker!’ Burdett barked out, ‘And put your hands back up high, unless you want another thump in the gut!’
Slowly and painfully Leroy straightened up and raised his hands back up above his head. He was still gasping a little, but he stared at Burdett with a steady, unafraid gaze.
‘Is there just you staying at the shack?’ Burdett rasped. He was anxious to know if there was another Baxter ranch hand staying at the shack with Leroy.
Despite the throbbing pain of his stomach, Leroy tried to smile as he asked, ‘Is there just Roebuck here with you?’ He knew that it was unusual to see Burdett with only Seth Roebuck, and that he was normally accompanied by Eli Slater and Bill Gooch as well.
Leroy was worried that Slater and Gooch might be staying hidden in the trees in case someone should suddenly appear on the scene to help him.
Burdett cursed at Leroy’s question, and Leroy thought that he was about to be punched in the stomach again. Certainly it was in Burdett’s mind to thump Leroy again, but then his eyes glinted with malice: he had thought of another way to cause suffering, and finally death, to Leroy.
Burdett told Roebuck to keep Leroy covered with his gun while he went back into the cover of the trees for his horse. Seconds later, he came back out of the trees with it, and led it ove
r to where Roebuck and Leroy were standing. There was a coiled rope slung across the saddle horn, and after taking the rope off the pommel, Burdett grinned at Roebuck.
Seth Roebuck grinned back at him. He knew what Burdett had in mind. At a nod from Burdett, Roebuck moved to stand behind Leroy. He dug the muzzle of his gun into Leroy’s back and told him to lower his hands and to put his palms together in front of him so that Burdett could tie his wrists.
Leroy could feel Roebuck’s gun digging into his back, and he could do nothing but obey. He lowered his hands and placed his palms together in front of him. A smirk was on Burdett’s face as he uncoiled the rope and used it to bind Leroy’s wrists tightly together; then keeping hold of the other end of the rope, he mounted his horse and gave a short, powerful tug on the rope. Leroy was pulled off his feet by the force of the tug, and jerked face down on the hard ground.
Burdett laughed, ‘This is where you pay for all the aggravation that you’ve caused me, Parker.’
Seth Roebuck also laughed, and hidden in the trees, Slater and Gooch moved into a position that gave them a better view of the trail and of what Burdett was doing to Leroy. They grinned at each other: just like Roebuck, they knew what Burdett had in mind.
Lying helpless in the dirt with his hands tied to the rope, Leroy felt a sudden, involuntary shiver as he realized what Burdett was about to do to him: he was going to drag him along the ground behind his horse until he was dead.
Burdett dug his spurs into the horse’s flanks: it sprang forwards, but luckily for Leroy, not into a full gallop. Leroy was dragged and bumped along the rough, rocky trail, grazing his chin, arms and knees.
Burdett cantered past the cottonwood trees where Slater and Gooch were hiding, and he was laughing wildly. He deliberately kept to the edge of the trail so that he could drag Leroy through the thorny bushes and rocks lining the path. Most of Leroy’s body was badly gashed by the jagged rocks and spiky bushes, and the pain he felt was sharp and intense.
Burdett only cantered for a few yards past the trees, then suddenly swung his horse around to ride back towards Roebuck, and as he rode up to Roebuck, he wheeled his horse round again to ride up past the trees, dragging Leroy in a kind of circular movement. He rode up past the trees again, then whirled round to canter back to where Roebuck stood.
Leroy’s painful ordeal did not last for much longer. For a fourth time Burdett had spurred his horse into a fast canter past the trees where Slater and Gooch were hidden, when there was the sound of thundering hoofbeats. The ground seemed to shake, and in a whirlwind of movement and dust, a horse and rider galloped on to the scene.
At the very instant he appeared, and before any of the Cottonwood men had time to react, or even to realize that he was there, and while his horse was still in full gallop, Lonzo fired off two rapid shots. He did not shoot to kill – he didn’t want to kill anyone unless he had no other choice – but one of his bullets severed the rope that Burdett was using to drag Leroy across the ground, and the other the reins that he was holding in his other hand.
Burdett’s startled horse came to a sudden sliding stop, and Burdett was thrown forwards. The horse snorted and reared up, and Burdett was jerked backwards and out of the saddle. He hit the ground hard, striking his head on a rock, and lay motionless on his back. In the next second, Lonzo was galloping towards Seth Roebuck, who stood no more than a stone’s throw away, staring at him in stunned amazement.
As Lonzo fast approached him, Roebuck shakily tried to aim his gun. Lonzo pulled his horse to a halt and aimed his gun at Roebuck, telling him to drop his weapon and to get down on his knees with his hands behind his head.
Roebuck did not need to be told twice, having just witnessed Lonzo’s remarkably fast shooting. He looked fearful as he quickly threw his gun away across the ground and dropped down to his knees with his hands clasped behind his head – but he wondered anxiously why Slater and Gooch had not opened fire yet from the trees.
Eli Slater and Bill Gooch were still keeping out of sight in the clump of cottonwood trees on the edge of the trail. From their hiding place, they peered out at the motionless form of Archie Burdett lying on the trail just a few yards from them.
Lonzo’s sudden and dramatic appearance, and the events directly following this, had all happened too quickly for them to do anything or even think of doing anything. Lonzo had burst upon the scene like a thunderbolt, and his quick-fire actions had temporarily shocked them into a sort of dazed stupefaction – but they were now beginning to recover from their bewilderment, and while keeping low in the undergrowth, they moved forwards a little more, and crouched down amongst a group of huge rocks and thick bushes at the front of the trees.
Now that he had dealt with Burdett and Roebuck, Lonzo’s next thought was for Leroy. He climbed down from his horse, and shot an anxious glance across at Leroy while keeping his eyes and his gun on the two Cottonwood men.
Leroy was lying near to where Burdett lay. His face was to the ground, his wrists were still bound, and he wasn’t moving. Lonzo started to hurry over to Leroy to check on him, but then stopped – he was standing in the best position to watch both Roebuck and Burdett, and he knew they were both devious men: Roebuck could be feigning his fear, and Burdett feigning unconsciousness. He decided to stay where he was for the moment, and called out Leroy’s name, hoping that he hadn’t passed out and wasn’t too badly injured.
Fortunately, Leroy was conscious, and he heard Lonzo call out to him. He felt dazed as he slowly lifted his head to look at Lonzo. Several cuts were visible on his face, and most parts of his body seemed to be throbbing with pain. He lowered his head again and lay still for a second, then he groaned and coughed, and as his mind became clearer, he slowly and carefully hauled himself up into a sitting position. He started to examine himself gingerly to see how badly injured he was – fortunately he did not appear to have suffered any broken bones. He then began to try and loosen the rope around his bound wrists. Blood dripped from the grazes on his hands.
Lonzo watched him; he was thinking of going over to help him, but the rope binding Leroy’s wrists had already been loosened from scraping along the ground, and he was soon able to free his wrists himself. He didn’t try to stand up straightaway as he was feeling groggy and in considerable pain – but all his physical distress soon left his mind as he remembered Eli Slater and Bill Gooch, and his worry that the two men might be hiding in the clump of cottonwood trees on the right of the trail. And as he glanced anxiously at the rocks and bushes in front of the trees, he thought he heard a rustling sound.
Leroy yelled at Lonzo to get down, but his voice was weak and Lonzo didn’t hear him. He lurched to his feet and yelled again at Lonzo to get down.
This time Lonzo heard him, and although he didn’t know why Leroy was yelling at him to get down, he trusted him, and so dropped down into the brush on the opposite side of the trail to Leroy. And sure enough, as Lonzo hit the ground and Leroy, too, fell back down again, shots were fired from the direction of the trees. Seth Roebuck, who was still on his knees, quickly fell forwards on to his face when he heard the shots, though he kept his hands clasped behind his head.
Slater and Gooch were concentrating most of their fire at Lonzo. They were reluctant to fire too much at Leroy as he was lying quite near to Burdett and they were afraid of hitting their friend. They were also trying not to hit Roebuck, who was lying close to Lonzo.
The brush that Lonzo was lying in was sparse and offered little cover, and he couldn’t move as Slater and Gooch continued to fire almost unceasingly at him. All he could do was try to keep as low as possible until he got a chance to use his gun.
Leroy knew that Lonzo was in a risky position, but he needed to get his hands on a gun to be able to help him. He glanced at the motionless form of Burdett, and began to scramble the short distance across the ground towards him. He kept low and close to the rocks at the side of the trail for some cover. Bullets whizzed all around him as he reached Burdett and grabbed his gun from
its holster. He then took shelter behind a small boulder to the side of Burdett.
Sheltering behind the boulder, Leroy was only a few feet away from the bushes and rocks where Slater and Gooch were firing from. He couldn’t actually see the two men, but he saw the smoke from their guns, which gave away their positions, and he caught a brief glimpse of sunlight glinting on metal as they continued to fire. He fired off two shots where he believed the men to be, hoping to draw their fire off Lonzo.
His shooting was fast and precise, and a shrill cry of pain rang out: the bullet had nicked Bill Gooch’s ear lobe, and he could be heard cursing. It brought an admiring smile to Lonzo’s face.
Gooch’s injury caused a respite in the shooting from the rocks and bushes, and Leroy was quick to take advantage of the lull, and loosed off a shot again. Lonzo lifted himself up and fired with him, and another shriek was heard as a bullet seared across Slater’s cheek bone.
Leroy and Lonzo fired again. Their shots were frighteningly close to Slater and Gooch, and the two men shouted out in surrender. Both their guns were thrown out from the rocks and bushes, and a second later, they stepped out themselves with their hands held high. Blood leaked from Gooch’s ear injury, and was streaked across Slater’s right cheek bone just below his eye.
Lonzo quickly reloaded his Colt Peacemaker gun and stood up. He kept the gun on Slater and Gooch, and shouted out to Seth Roebuck to get up and to walk over and stand beside his companions. Roebuck stood up, and keeping his hands behind his head, did as he was told. Burdett was still lying as though unconscious.
Leroy got rather unsteadily to his feet. His face was pale, and his shirt and pants were badly torn in several places, exposing blood-streaked cuts and gashes.
‘Are you OK?’ Lonzo called brusquely to him. Leroy mumbled that he was fine.
Lonzo could see that he was far from being fine, but he did not comment on the fact, but instead told Leroy to get some rope, and to tie up the three men while he kept his gun on them.
