“There’s a choice,” I muttered.
There wasn’t any reply, so Dick fired another shot into the reeds. “You have thirty seconds to decide!” He looked to me. “Billy, you got matches?”
I felt a giddy bubbling in my chest. “Ya know I do!”
“Get ‘em out. If they won’t surrender, we’ll set fire to this patch of reeds on all sides and that’ll be that.”
With a nod, I turned to the bag tied up behind me and reached into a side pocket to get my matches.
“Last chance!” Dick yelled. “We’re gonna set all sides ablaze.”
That seemed to put some get up and go into their step and both raised their hands high, not a gun to be seen.
“We surrender,” one of them shouted.
Keeping his rifle pointed at them, Dick replied, “Come on out, and keep your hands up high where we can see ‘em. You reach down once for a gun, and I’ll put a bullet in your chest without a second thought, just like you did John.”
The two men walked out of the reeds, hands up high, guns in their holsters, not making a move toward them in the slightest.
“Doc? MacNab? Get their guns and bring ‘em here,” Dick ordered. “Middleton? Waite? Get their horses.”
Those with a task began to move while the rest of us sat there, wondering what Dick was going to do with them now that he had them. He knew where Charlie and I stood on this, which is likely why we weren’t asked to go get them. Dick wasn’t stupid. He knew if we had the chance, we’d kill them without a second thought.
They were marched up to us, and I got a good look at them for the first time. That night out in the valley when they shot John, I could see them, but it wasn’t as clear as now.
“They them?” Dick asked me, as if reading my mind.
“Yeah, I recognize ‘em,” I said. With a nod toward Baker, I added, “That one was in the party, but not the three who, you know.”
“The three who what?” Baker demanded to know.
“The three who murdered John Tunstall in cold blood,” I said, enough heat in my voice to cause Baker to flinch.
Dick must’ve noticed it, too, for as he held his rifle trained on them, he said, “You thought no one witnessed your little show in the valley that night, didn’t ya? Hate to break it to you, but someone did, and you’re goin’ to jail.”
“Now wait a minute,” Baker said. “I had no idea that—”
“Shut up, Frank,” Morton said.
Baker did as he was told, and seconds, slow as sap in February, ticked by.
Coming to a conclusion, Dick said, “You can lower your hands, gentleman.”
“You’re not going to shoot us?” Morton asked.
Dick lowered his gun. “Truth be told, I would’ve preferred not to have taken you alive, but now that we have, you have my word that you’ll not be harmed.”
It was like a match lit the fire in my chest. “What? Your word? Dick, are you out of your damn mind? These two will not serve a day if we turn them in! No, no way in hell are they gettin’ to go scot-free.” I pulled my gun with the silver in it and took aim.
“Stop!” Dick yelled.
For no reason I know, I did, even though rage had my arm shaking. I could feel this compelling need in me crying out to kill them. I’d never felt this before and could only assume it was the curse working to undermine my personal choices.
“We’re not killing any man who surrenders, Billy, and that’s that,” Dick said.
“But they—” I ground out between clenched teeth.
“It would make us no better than them,” Dick explained, his voice quieter than before.
Charlie was fit to be tied as well. “So you want to what? Hand them over to Brady for a few minutes and then throw them a goodbye party as they head to Mexico and disappear?”
I jumped off my horse and walked toward the two men, placing the barrel of my gun against Morton’s forehead. “I’m not hearin’ a good enough argument to not kill these sons of bitches here and now.”
I stared into Morton’s face, one called handsome by many who’d described him. His eyes were intent and showed no fear of dying at my hand. That was likely because he didn’t realize I had silver in this gun or he just was one brave S.O.B. I leaned in toward him. “I know what you are, and I’d happily mount your head on a stick and parade it around town. You get me?”
“That’s enough!” Dick yelled as Middleton and Doc grabbed me and pulled me back.
I could’ve fired then, and I almost did. I could feel my strength rise and knew I could overpower Doc, maybe Middleton, too, but not without hurting them, and that gave me pause.
“Don’t you dare,” Dick said. The power behind the words and the underlying tone was enough that I, as they say, fell into line. As did Charlie, who also had his gun out and aimed at Frank Baker. “Put the gun away and let’s come up with another plan.”
I lowered my weapon and headed straight to one of my saddlebags to grab two silver cuffs disguised to look like steel. Stepping over to Brewer, I offered a silver cuff to him. “Care to do the honors with me?” When he looked at the bracket like a Brussel sprout, I tossed it to Scurlock. “Help me out, Doc.”
He caught it. “Sure thing.”
I pointed to Charlie. “Keep that gun on ‘em.”
Charlie nodded at me, and I clamped the cuff to Morton’s ankle.
“This is ridiculous,” Baker said. “What is this one little cuff supposed to do?”
Doc grinned at Baker, revealing his two missing front teeth before bending down to put the cuff on him. He then pulled out an actual set of wrist irons. “That will make these effective on the likes of you, that’s what.”
“What are ya doin’, Billy?” Dick asked.
Middleton placed another set of irons on Morton’s wrists while I explained.
“Ya see, these silver cuffs will keep ‘em from changin’ and reduce their strength so the irons do their job.”
“Sun is up,” Dick pointed out.
“The moon could be, too, and we’d not see it,” I said. “If we learned anythin’ during that charade of an arrest Brady did yesterday, it’s that they can change when the moon is out, doesn’t have to be night.” I paused and patted Morton on the shoulder when I saw the surprise on their faces. “Oh, by the way, we know all about you.”
With a Regulator holding the reins, we let Morton and Baker mount their tired horses. This left both men to ride the horn for balance, a degrading thing for any cowboy worth his salt as a rider.
“Where to?” Fred asked Dick.
“It’s gettin’ late, so we’ll head up river to Bob Gilbert’s ranch for the night.”
With a nod, I mounted my horse. “Sounds good. We only have light till around six o’clock, so we best get a move on.”
“Agreed,” Dick said, then he turned to our captives. “If you try to escape, my word no longer holds, and Billy here will put a silver bullet in your brain. Got it?”
Both men nodded, and we headed back out onto the road, keeping a steady pace. Halfway to the Gilbert ranch, Charlie rode up next to me and I could tell he had something on his mind.
“Spit it out, pal,” I said.
“How do you know about the moon and sun so much? You never used to.”
“Garrett gave me this book that talks about the stages of the moon and gives times of sunset, sunrise, moonrise, and moonset through the year. Figure if I’m supposed to fight these demons, I should know their schedule, right? I’ve been readin’ it a bit here and there. I check it each mornin’ for that day’s schedule. For example, after the sun rose this mornin’, the moon rose about an hour afterwards. It’s only a sliver. With the sun out, it’s hard to see.”
“Sliver?” Charlie asked.
“What do they call it again? Oh, yeah, a crescent. A waxing crescent. And it’ll set about two and a half hours after the sun does tonight. That means we’ll only see it for a short time. If the research by other Regulators is right, they can only change
when the moon is up at a crescent or more. The new moon makes them unable to change, and a full moon means they have to change.”
“You’re sayin’ they could change right now?”
“Yep, but we put a solid silver bracelet on each of their ankles, so that’ll keep that from happenin’. If it was a full moon, that wouldn’t help at all, but it’s not, so we should be safe.”
“If we’re not?”
“I’ll put a bullet in each of their heads. No hesitation.”
“Even if they’re not runnin’ away?”
I hated to go against Dick, but I knew my answer. “Even if.”
7
Morton And Baker
Once we reached Gilbert’s ranch, the sun was setting, and I pointed out the moon to Charlie as we dismounted and got settled. Thankfully, we only had two and a half hours to watch our captives extra close. Once the moon set, they would be stuck in human form, and then anyone could guard them, not just me.
By eight-thirty, Fred and Doc came to watch ‘em for a few hours, and I got excited about heading to the kitchen to fetch a bite to eat and maybe playing a good game of cards. But what they told me as we swapped places changed my plans for the night.
“William McCloskey is here.”
I spun to look Fred in the face. “You’re not jokin’?”
“Nope. Seems he was here helpin’ translate for Bob. Heard him say to Dick that he’d ride with us tomorrow.”
“The hell he is! He was in the party that—”
“I know, but...well...you should go talk to him and Dick. They’re outside the kitchen. Food was held for you.”
“All right. Thanks.”
This was an interesting turn of events. Last we’d spoken to the “other William,” as I tended to call him, was three in the morning the day John died. Knowing McCloskey had a few friends in the posse coming for the cattle, Tunstall dispatched him to Turkey Springs, where the posse was meeting up. McCloskey’s job there was to inform whoever was in charge that although the seizing of his stock was being done against his consent, there would be no resistance.
But that wasn’t what made all this awkward. It was the fact that the last time we’d seen McCloskey, he was riding with the posse Morton led to kill Tunstall. That did not bode well for him, and if we found out he’d had a hand in helping Morton find us that day, warrant or no, I was gonna arrest him.
Trying to keep my anger in check, I walked slowly, going over all the facts as we knew them and chose a plan of action. Arriving at the kitchen door, I found Dick sitting outside by a fire with McCloskey. They were just talking casual-like, but my gaze met Dick’s, and I took the cue I saw there, saying, “Well, if it isn’t the other William; I heard rumor you were here!”
“Hey, Billy, how are you?” he asked, standing up and coming toward me, hand outstretched.
I wanted to grab his hand, yank him in, pull my blade, and demand the truth. Then ram it into his gut if he’d betrayed us. Instead, I shook his hand and smiled. “I’m good, you?”
“Never been better.”
“That’s good to hear,” I lied. “I’m gonna go get me my dinner before it’s too cold. I’ll be back. Don’t you go nowhere.”
“I’m just sittin’ here, talkin’ with Dick.”
“I see that,” I said, a tiny bit of bitterness lighting into my tone.
Dick gave me a cautionary look. “Go eat, grumpy.”
“On it, Captain!” I said, saluting him and heading into the kitchen where I had to collect myself. I might’ve been able to calm down, but Middleton came in as I was eating.
He sat with me and stared me down. “What are we goin’ to do about this?”
I tried to play it off. “About what?”
Middleton pointed a finger in my face. “You know damn well what I’m talkin’ about. How are we not supposed to talk to him about that day?”
“Isn’t Dick doing that?”
“I’ve not heard him say anythin’ about it yet, and I’ve been sittin’ around the corner listenin’. Just been pleasantries and ranch talk.”
“Dick will ask. He can’t not ask—it’s who he is. He’ll have to know. Give him time.”
“I think he’s been waitin’ on you, so it’s two against one.”
“Dick is two people,” I joked, picking on the gentle giant’s size.
Middleton laughed. “Ain’t that the truth. But he knows you’re the only one who really saw him, so he’ll need you to back him up.”
I finished my food and went over to the basin filled with soapy water. Washing my dishes, I said, “Well, I’m about to go out there, and we’ll see what happens.”
“All right. I’ll be ‘round the corner if you need me.”
“Good to know,” I said, and I meant it. It was well known that John was not only an excellent marksman, but a fist-fighter as well. He’d be the first man I’d pick to be on my team, after Brewer, that is.
I set my dishes on a rack to dry and, with a nod at Middleton, went back outside. I crossed to the opposite side of the fire to keep the house and McCloskey in my sights. Plus, between the house, Brewer, Middleton, and me, the other William had no way to run.
Squatting down by the fire, I put my hands toward the flames to warm them. Firelight on my face, I looked at McCloskey, then Dick, and raised an eyebrow. I got a slight nod from the big man, which I took as the go-ahead and decided if it wasn’t, he’d stop me.
“She’s still the best horse I’ve ever owned,” McCloskey was saying. “Wouldn’t sell her for two hundred dollars.”
Seeing my opening with that, I said, “Was she the horse you rode to Paul’s ranch that night?”
There was a hiccup in the chatter as he took a moment before answering with, “It is. What a horrible turn of events. I couldn’t believe my ears when they told me.”
Dick grimaced, as did I, but while I hid mine by looking down from the fire, he didn’t even try to. “Ears?” he asked. “Don’t you mean eyes, Will?”
McCloskey looked to Brewer. “I’m sorry?”
“You were there. We saw you ride into that canyon with Morton, Baker, Evans, and the rest of them. Tell me, were you a member of the posse?” Dick asked.
McCloskey suddenly understood the tone in which the discussion had turned, and his voice went up in pitch slightly. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Were you privy to their plans in killin’ Tunstall?” I stated flatly.
“What? Why would you think that?”
“Why else would you be with them?” Dick asked. “Did they force you to ride with ‘em?”
“Force me? No! I have friends in the group, so I tagged along.”
“That makes no sense,” I said, standing up. “Why would you want to ride all the way out there? Do they have somethin’ on you? Do you owe The House money?”
“No, I do not owe them money or anythin’ else!”
“Then?” I prompted.
“I went with them over to Tunstall’s ranch as planned. As they were leavin’, Buck asked if I was heading into town. I was, so I figured a ride with pals was better than ridin’ alone.”
“Or maybe you just hold your alliances closer to that side than ours,” Dick said, sitting up, hands on his knees.
I took the cue and stood, hooking my right thumb on my cartridge belt not far from my gun. “Are those friends closer than the ones you helped fortify John’s place with the night before?”
“Whoa, wait a minute, both of you. I did not sell John out. I swear! I tagged along for the reasons stated and to help with translation if anything got heated.”
“Translation? Morton speaks English just fine.” I looked to Brewer. “That was English he was speakin’ earlier when we arrested him right? Or was I imaginin’ that?”
McCloskey looked astonished. “You arrested him? Is that why you’re here?”
“Yes,” Dick replied. “We’ve got a warrant for his and Baker’s arrest, and we’ll be turnin’ them both in to the law in Linc
oln. They’ll go to trial for killin’ John.”
“Should you be joinin’ ‘em?” I asked.
“No! No, I should not!” McCloskey protested. “I had nothin’ to do with that. I simply was ridin’ with them to Lincoln. You have my word.”
I could tell Dick wasn’t sure he believed him, but we had no proof otherwise, so the big man decided to play it cool. He leaned back in his chair again, feigning a relaxed state, saying, “Okay, we believe you.”
McCloskey stood and looked between me and Brewer. Without a word, he walked away.
Tilting his hat over his eyes, Brewer added, “Oh, and Will?”
He stopped and turned back to us. “Yeah?”
“If we find out you’re lyin’, you’ll be lucky if I have time to get a warrant and arrest you.”
“How’s that lucky?”
I smiled wide. “He means, you’ll be lucky if I don’t kill you first. Have a good night.”
Eyes wide, the other William quickly turned and headed off.
“You believe him?” I asked, sitting next to Brewer.
Hat still down, he said, “For now.” Then, out of nowhere, I heard him make a noise that almost sounded like a low growl. With teeth clenched, he added, “But God help him if I find out he lied to me.”
Right then and there, I knew that if we learned that McCloskey was indeed a turncoat, I’d have to beat Brewer to the man if I wanted to be the one to kill him. It seemed Dick did have a breaking point after all. Thing was, I may have been the one who threatened to kill him outright, but if Dick’s reaction was any indication, he’d do worse to the man than I would...and that scared even me to consider.
Two nights later, we made our last stop before heading into Lincoln to turn Morton and Baker in to the authorities. We’d even sent a rider ahead to alert those at the Chisum Ranch in South Springs of our plans.
The sun had set behind the mountains, so it was hard to see all Chisum’s place, referred to as South Spring Ranch. However, I knew from previous trips here that it was a long, one story, Spanish style ranch. It was surrounded by a white picket fence that stood no farther than ten feet from the thick adobe walls that protected all who were inside from attack.
The Curse of Billy the Kid: Untold Legends Volume One Page 8
