Vigilante Dawn

by Ralph Compton

“Your partner over there seemed to be feeling charitable,” Sol said.

  Jarrett looked back to Ackerman and then returned his eyes to Sol. “You really want to gamble on that?”

  Sol’s last, desperate attempt to talk his way out of that room ended just as quickly as it had begun. “Before I tell you anything more,” he said, “I want your word that you’ll set me free afterward.”

  “You’re not in any position to make a deal, Sol.”

  “Then at least don’t kill me,” he pleaded. “Promise you’ll let me live.”

  Jarrett would never feel sorry for this man or any of the others who had anything at all to do with what had happened to his family. Even so, watching Sol grovel without any attempt to keep a shred of pride or dignity brought Jarrett as close to pity as was possible. Studying him like a bug under a magnifying glass, he said, “You must have something really good to tell me.”

  “I do!”

  “What is it?”

  “Promise me,” Sol said. “Promise me you won’t kill me.”

  “All right. I promise.”

  Sol looked relieved, but only for a moment. His eyes took on a desperate intensity as he quickly said, “Promise me you won’t let either of them other two kill me either.”

  “What could you possibly have to say to me that’s valuable enough for me to make so many promises just to hear it?”

  “It’s worth it,” Sol vowed. “I swear.”

  Finally curiosity mixed with that little granule of pity to get the better of him and Jarrett said, “All right. Tell me your big secret or whatever it is and I promise none of us will kill you.”

  “Or hurt me again. Like . . . with that spur or—”

  “That’s it,” Jarrett grunted as he reached for the Colt.

  “That woman we captured at your ranch is still alive!” Sol spat.

  Jarrett froze with his hand on the pistol’s grip. Whatever he’d intended to do with the gun after it had been drawn was now forgotten. He almost forgot how to stand upright since Jarrett’s entire world had suddenly gone off-kilter. “What did you just say?”

  For a second, Sol couldn’t move.

  “If you think that’s some kind of joke,” Jarrett warned.

  “It’s not a joke.”

  “Why would you even think to say such a thing?”

  “Because,” Sol replied, “I saw her. She was coming out of your house when it was set on fire. I thought Clay was gonna leave everyone in there, but she came right out.”

  As a test to see if Sol was making something up to save his skin, Jarrett asked, “What did she look like?”

  Not only did Sol describe Jen’s face, hair, and general stature, but he also described what she’d been wearing on that terrible night. The picture that was drawn in Jarrett’s mind was vivid enough to make his heart ache.

  “Clay took her outside before the house collapsed?” Jarrett asked.

  “Not . . . as such. She came out on her own. Just her and a baby.”

  Suddenly Jarrett was brought one half step closer to being the man he’d once been. “She had the baby with her?”

  “Yes. She called it . . . called it . . .” After thinking for a few moments, Sol snapped to attention and said, “Autumn! She called the baby Autumn.”

  “Oh my God.” When he focused on Sol again, Jarrett lunged forward to grab the prisoner by the collar and pull him with enough force to bring him and the chair off the floor. “Where are they? Tell me!”

  At first, Sol was terrified by Jarrett’s sudden loss of restraint. Once he saw he had something the other man wanted, he found a little of the confidence he’d so recently lost. Before Jarrett could knock him down a few pegs, he was being pulled away from the prisoner by two sets of hands.

  “Take it easy, there,” Lem said. “Don’t want to rattle the little fellow too much.”

  “But I’m not through with him yet,” Jarrett said.

  “I think you are,” Ackerman said. “At least for a few moments. Why don’t you let one of us take a run at him?”

  Having dragged Jarrett a few paces back, Lem stepped in front of him and said, “That may not be a bad idea. Could give you a chance to catch your breath.”

  “Did you hear what he just told me?”

  Lem backed up a step as a flicker of concern crossed his face. “What did he tell you?” he asked.

  “He said my brother’s wife and her baby girl are alive.”

  “Do you believe him?”

  “I was about to get to the bottom of it when I was dragged off,” Jarrett said. “Let me finish what I started.”

  “Why don’t you let us have a crack at him?” Lem said. When Jarrett started to protest, he added, “I’m not asking you to leave. Just stand over there and watch.”

  “I want to do something to help.”

  “You’ll be helping plenty. Just try to look menacing.”

  Jarrett wasn’t exactly sure what Lem meant by that or how he could pull it off. He thought he could use a moment to catch his breath, so Jarrett took a few steps back and watched to see what would happen from a distance.

  In the few moments it took for Lem to get back to the chair where Sol was tied, he shifted into a whole new skin. Instead of the soft-spoken man Jarrett had come to know, Lem took on the bearing of a predatory animal with his shoulders squared, head leaning slightly forward, and a nasty snarl on his lips. “What do you know about that man’s family?”

  “Like I told him,” Sol said. “I’ll only say what I know if I’m to be cut loose afterward.”

  Lem’s hand snapped out to grab hold of Sol’s chin. Making sure at least one of his fingers was digging into the fresh wound on Sol’s cheek, Lem turned him to face Jarrett while asking, “You see that man there?”

  “Y . . . yes,” Sol replied.

  “You think I can keep him from killing you in the worst way possible after what you and Clay did to his kin?”

  “But . . . the deal was to—”

  Lem used his free hand to slap Sol across the face. It would have been an inconsequential blow if not for the bloody gash that was Lem’s main target. Sol grunted and tried to turn away but wasn’t very successful. While Ackerman wasn’t comfortable with this any more than he was with what Jarrett had been doing, the deputy wasn’t as eager to interfere with Lem.

  “You’ll answer the question I ask and only that question,” Lem snarled. “Got it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What do you know about that woman and her little baby?”

  “Just what I already told him,” Sol replied. “I saw them leaving the house before it burned down.”

  “What about the rest of his family?” Lem asked. “You know anything about them?”

  “I want—”

  “Look over at that man,” Lem said while jabbing a finger in Jarrett’s direction.

  Sol looked over at Jarrett, who stood nearby like a coiled snake that could lunge at any second to bury its fangs into his flesh.

  “Do you think that man gives a damn about what you want?” Lem continued.

  “No,” Sol said. With that single word, all hope drained from his eyes.

  “Your only hope is to deal with me. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

  Sol nodded. He then sighed and said, “I saw a little girl as well. But that was after the fire. I don’t know for certain whether she came out of that house or not.”

  “Did Clay have any little girls with him before you all got to the Lazy J?” Lem asked.

  “No. We were to meet up with someone afterward, though. Someone who might be bringing along a prisoner or two.”

  “Where did these prisoners go after the fires were started?”

  “Clay took them,” Sol said.

  “Where?”

  Sol shook his head. Upon se
eing that, Jarrett took a step forward and then stopped from going any farther. Before Jarrett could get any closer, Sol quickly said, “I don’t know what Clay has in mind for them. They were taken off the ranch and I didn’t see them again after that.”

  “How could you not have seen them?” Jarrett asked as he came forward a bit more.

  “Because I was sent here with some of the cattle to arrange for a buyer. Why don’t you ask him what Clay has in mind?”

  Jarrett’s mind was moving through several paces at once. “What about a boy?” he asked. “Was there a boy with them as well?”

  Sol didn’t have to think for very long about that. “I didn’t see no boy, but that don’t mean there wasn’t one. After the fires were set, things were crazy. The herd had to be rounded up and we had to get moving quickly. Most of my job was to keep an eye on the ranch hands and keep an eye out for any law that might come along to check on the fire. I only got a quick look at the house and such and I already told you what I saw!”

  Listening to Sol talk about gathering up that herd after setting those fires, Jarrett had all he could do to keep from killing him right then and there.

  “I’m betting Clay took a different route than the others driving that herd,” Lem said.

  “That’s right,” Sol replied. “He did.”

  “Where’s he going?”

  “Due north into Canada.”

  Lem’s scowl took such a narrow focus that it made Sol recoil from it. “Last chance,” Lem said. “Whatever you got to say that might save your miserable hide, this is the time to say it.”

  Jarrett watched closely without expecting a single peep to come out of Sol’s mouth. After how scared the prisoner had been at so many different points during their questioning period, surely there wasn’t much else for him to say. Jarrett was quickly proven wrong.

  “I still don’t know about any boy,” Sol said, “but them two ladies . . . the woman and the girl . . . they’ll be traveling with Clay.”

  “You’re sure of that?”

  Sol nodded, keeping his head hung low as he added, “He mentioned something about sellin’ them off.”

  “You mean, selling off the herd?” Jarrett asked.

  “No,” Sol said. “The ladies. He wants to sell off the ladies.”

  “Good God,” Ackerman said.

  Lem moved closer to Sol, but the prisoner was done flinching. He’d been put through the wringer so many times in one night that there wasn’t much else to be done to him apart from putting a bullet through his skull.

  “Sell them to who?” Lem asked.

  Shrugging, Sol replied, “I don’t know. Someone at the Canadian border. Could be sellin’ them as . . .” His eyes darted up to Jarrett as he picked some more tactful words than what he had in mind. “Could be sold to work for a Frenchman by the name of Jacque. I don’t know his last name. He buys women and takes them to work all over the country. Sometimes they’re ransomed for a few quick dollars. To be honest, I was glad to get away from that sort of thing so I could bring these cows in for their brand. I don’t want any part of the rest.”

  “What’s the best way for us to find Clay?” Ackerman asked.

  “Should be a trail about seven miles west of Flat Pass that heads due north.”

  “I know it,” Lem said.

  “Then you know what I know,” Sol said. “There ain’t more for me to say. If’n you’re gonna kill me, just get it over with.”

  “You two,” Jarrett said to Lem and Ackerman. “Get out.”

  Ackerman shook his head but was taken from the room by Lem. Despite the deputy’s protests, he was overpowered and had no choice but to step outside for the moment.

  “What now?” Sol asked. “You gonna shoot me?”

  “No,” Jarrett said.

  “Cut my throat?”

  “I’m handing you over to that deputy. Unless you want to help us round up the other men that came to Muriel with you.”

  “I already told you more than enough. If you can’t get them with that, then you don’t have a prayer against Clay.”

  Jarrett stepped closer to the prisoner. Although he kept his hand on his Colt, he didn’t have any intention of drawing it. “Answer me one more question.”

  “Sure. Why the hell not?”

  “Why’d you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Burn my ranch,” Jarrett said. “You had what you needed. Everyone was tied or knocked out or shot. Clay and the rest of you could have taken the herd just as easily without setting any fires. You could’ve gotten away even sooner, in fact. Why take the time to do all of that?”

  Sol swallowed hard. For a moment, he seemed ready to keep his silence. Whether he was afraid of further questioning or just too tired to resist any longer, he said, “Clay wanted to send a message.”

  “A message? To who?”

  “I don’t know,” Sol replied with a weary shake of his head. “Clay just wanted to hit that place hard and leave nothing behind. Nothing.”

  “And now you say he’s headed north?”

  Sol nodded. “If you’re gonna kill me, just do it and get it over with. There ain’t anything else I can tell you.”

  Every bone in Jarrett’s body told him he could believe what he was hearing. Still, there was another part of him that wasn’t satisfied. Placing a hand on his Colt was the first step to scratching that itch.

  Jarrett looked over one shoulder and saw Ackerman watching him intently. The young deputy was tensed and ready to act. He gave Jarrett a stern glare that was unmistakably a warning that said, Back off.

  When Jarrett looked over his other shoulder, he caught sight of Lem standing a few paces behind him wearing a much different expression. Lem was quiet and unmoving, but his eyes reflected more than just understanding. There was a hint of approval there as well that said, Do it.

  Jarrett’s grip tightened around his Colt as he brought the gun up. Stopping just short of clearing leather, he dropped the pistol back into its holster. “Get this piece of trash out of my sight,” he snarled. He didn’t have to look to see which of the two other men in that room would be the one to take custody of the outlaw.

  As Ackerman went to the chair where Sol was tied, Jarrett approached Lem. “It’s not too late, you know,” Lem said to him. “We can put a bullet into that murderer anytime we choose.”

  “I know that. We’ve still got two others to deal with. Ackerman’s going to need some breathing room to get a prisoner out of here. Why don’t you check to make sure the street’s clear and I’ll help get him to his feet?”

  “All right.”

  After Lem turned and left the room, Jarrett stalked toward the other two. Even though he’d already made up his mind, there were still plenty of demons rustling around inside him trying to be heard. Locking eyes with Sol, he drew his pistol and held it at hip level. “I’ve got him covered, Ackerman,” he said. “Get him untied.”

  The deputy hurried to cut the ropes keeping Sol connected to the chair while leaving the ones binding his wrists and ankles intact.

  “What the hell are you looking at?” Jarrett asked.

  Sol hardly moved. There clearly wasn’t enough steam in his engine to mount an escape. There was barely enough for him to say, “Best keep your eye on that friend of yours.”

  “You don’t know a thing about it.”

  “Is that a fact, now? Why don’t you enlighten me?”

  Chapter 28

  The cathouse had no proper name but was known well enough throughout Muriel. All Jarrett had to do was ask someone at the closest saloon about it and he was told exactly where to look. When he stepped out of that saloon again, Jarrett crossed the street to where Lem was waiting.

  “You know where we’re headed?” Lem asked.

  Jarrett nodded. “It’s a house with two floors and three la
nterns along the porch. Just down that street and right at the corner.”

  Lem glanced over to where Jarrett was pointing and nodded. “Might as well get going before them other two get nervous.”

  “I imagine they’ll find a way to amuse themselves while waiting for Sol.”

  “You’re right about that.”

  Both of them headed down the street. It was so late that time no longer mattered and Jarrett was so exhausted that he was no longer tired. He knew he’d collapse as soon as he gave himself a moment to rest, so he just had to keep moving.

  After rounding the corner, Lem said, “I trust the kid got away without incident.”

  “He did.”

  “You think he can handle Sol on his own?”

  “He’ll have to,” Jarrett replied. “If he can’t ride with one man that’s tied as tight as Sol was, he’ll be pretty useless as a deputy.”

  “Very true.” They walked another fifty yards or so before Lem asked, “So, what’s the plan for these other two?”

  “We find them at that cathouse and drag them out by their ears if necessary.”

  “And then what?” When he got a sideways glance from Jarrett, Lem added, “I don’t mean to sound ignorant, but it might be wise for us to be thinking along the same lines when we get in there. Once the lead starts to fly, there won’t be a lot of time to discuss things like there was with Sol.”

  “You think I made a mistake keeping him alive?” Jarrett asked.

  “Doesn’t matter what I think. These men just need to get dealt with.”

  “And why is that so important to you?”

  Lem looked over at him with half a tired grin on his face. “What’s gotten into you? I signed up for this posse and I’ve been doing my best to see the job through to its end.”

  “I know you have. My question is why.”

  “Because what those men did wasn’t right. You think you’re the only one who sees it? If that sort of thing is tolerated, then it’ll only get worse from there. Besides, there was a payment being offered and I need the money.”

  With a town as spread out as Muriel, all anyone needed to find a particular spot was a general direction. The farther they went from the center of town, the easier it became to navigate. Jarrett could see a short row of small houses not too far away. The one at the far right end was marked by a trio of flickering lanterns.