The Floating Outfit 11

by J. T. Edson

  ‘Are you staying hereabouts, Captain Fog?’ asked Major Leyland, a rather stiff and military looking rancher.

  ‘Nope, just drifting through. This’s a nice little town though. Could do with being a mite larger for all of that.’

  ‘It sure could,’ Leyland agreed. ‘I can’t see why the Land Office doesn’t wake itself up. We’ve thought of taking a petition to the Governor and see what he can do for us.’

  ‘Passed a fair sized wagon train headed this way. Coming here, the folks do tell,’ Mark drawled, catching his cue from Dusty.

  ‘Nesters?’ growled the man next to Leyland.

  ‘Nope!’ Dusty brought the answer in to clear up that problem.

  He knew how the open range rancher felt about nesters, the small farmers and the trouble they brought in their wake.

  ‘Like I said,’ Mark went on. ‘They’re coming here to build a town.’

  ‘What’ll the Ortegas say to that?’ asked Last, not knowing he was asking the one question Dusty wanted to hear.

  ‘If I know young Terry and Sue they’ll likely throw up the first house with their bare hands,’ laughed Leyland. ‘They’ve both been bending my ear every time they saw me, ever since their pappy died and he was as bad before them.’

  ‘They want a town here bad?’ asked Dusty.

  ‘More than any of us. Their mother died giving birth to a baby, it died too. Wasn’t a doctor within a hundred miles or more. Ever since that the Ortega family haven’t given any of us any peace about having a proper town here so we’d have all we wanted and be independent of Hammerlock.’

  Dusty watched Leyland and saw the rancher to be serious. Talk welled up in the room and the ranchers escorted Dusty and Mark to the bar so that they could answer questions about what the wagon train contained. It was clear that the new citizens of Backsight would meet with approval among the old inhabitants.

  ‘Some purty and unmarried gals!’ whooped a cowhand to the man who stood next to him, a rider who sported a bushy beard. ‘I telled you you’d regret growing that lot.’

  It was at that moment Eddy Last decided to take control of the situation as became a leading member of the community. He pounded lustily on the bar top and raised a yell which might be expected to raise echoes the entire length of the Grand Canyon.

  ‘Order. Hey! Give me order!’

  ‘I’ll take another couple of beers,’ Mark replied.

  Last waited until the laughter and talk died down then leaned forward and bellowed, ‘Boys, I hereby proposes, seconds and thirds that we all goes out there and meets these folks tomorrow. Show them that they’re real welcome in Backsight.’

  The yell of agreement almost jolted the bottles from behind the bar.

  ‘Yowee!’ whooped Mark, winking at the big burly rancher by his side. ‘Ain’t he the living genius? Deserves to be showed respect!’

  With that two huge hands shot across the bar. Last saw them an instant too late, for they closed on his vest and he was lifted over the bar like he weighed no more than a baby. The whooping and yelling cowhands passed Last from hand to hand over their heads, right around the room, back to Mark and the rancher, who lowered him gently but head first back over the bar. He came up red of face, throwing curses at Texas in general and a certain overgrowed blond schoolkid in particular but for all that his hands were busy serving drinks to celebrate the coming of the wagon train.

  ~*~

  Louise Raines was unable to sleep. She rolled and tossed on her bed but the thought of her new home being so close prevented sleep from coming. The first red streak of dawn was in the sky as she rolled out of her blankets and dressed. Then climbing out of the wagon she took up her saddle and went to where the horse was tethered.

  ‘Where’d you reckon you’re going gal?’

  Louise jumped slightly at the words and turned to find the Ysabel Kid behind her. The saddle was half on her horse and she replied, ‘I felt like taking a ride. Exercise my horse.’

  ‘Why sure. Keep your eye on that V notch, then when you get to it you’ll see the town. Tell Dusty nobody left the train last night.’

  The girl turned and stared at him. ‘How did you know?’

  ‘I told you, you’d never make a poker player. Get going. I don’t reckon your pappy’d approve.’

  Louise made good time as she crossed the range, she found the pass through the hills and soon after rode along the deserted main street of Backsight, seeing for the first time the town which was to be her home. The whinny of a horse led her to the corral behind the buildings. There was a fair bunch of horses in the coral and to one side Dusty’s paint grazed alongside Mark’s blood-bay. There was no sign of Red’s claybank and this worried Louise. She did not know of Red’s meeting with Terry Ortega and wondered where he might be.

  The party in celebration of the wagon train’s arrival had gone on until the small hours of the morning and most of the festive cowhands were still fast asleep in the brush or wherever they spent the night. The town lay silent, deserted and Louise had seen nobody since she rode in.

  Swinging down from the horse Louise prepared to remove the saddle and leave it in the corral with the others. She heard the sound of another horse behind her then a feminine voice said:

  ‘Now that’s what I call a real fine hoss.’

  Louise turned to look at the speaker. She was a small, shapely and very pretty young woman with curly, fairly short blonde hair. A Stetson was thrust back on her head, her face while tanned was snub-nosed and bore a friendly smile which added to the merry sparkle in her blue eyes. Her clothes were a tartan shirtwaist thrust into old washed out blue jeans which hung cowhand style outside high-heeled and fancy stitched boots. She stood about an inch smaller than Louise but her figure was rich and full with hard firm muscles under the skin.

  ‘He’s all right,’ Louise replied, liking the look of the other girl.

  ‘Bluegrass country thoroughbred,’ remarked the small girl. ‘Don’t see a sight of them this side of the Big Muddy.’

  ‘I brought him from Kentucky.’ Louise replied, looking at the mean, vicious little cowpony which the girl secured to the corral well clear of her own horse. Its ears were flattened down and it tried to kick sideways while swinging its head to snap at the girl who avoided the bite with ease. ‘You’ve picked a bad one there.’

  The girl laughed. Louise liked her even more when she laughed for there was the world of delight in the laugh. She hoped the other girl would be a neighbor.

  ‘Ole Tonto’s a sawed-off lump of perversity,’ the girl answered merrily. ‘I sure don’t know why I keep him in my string. The boys at the spread allow it’s because he’s the only thing with a meaner temper than mine. Say, I haven’t seen you around town. My name’s Sue Ortega.’

  Ten – Miss Raines Indulges in Fisticuffs

  Louise lost her friendly smile at the words. ‘Are you related to Terry Ortega?’

  ‘You might say that,’ Sue replied. ‘He’s my big brother.’ Louise was much like her father in hot temper. She spoke without a thought of the result of her words.

  ‘Why has he tried to stop us getting here?’ she gasped hotly. ‘What does he mean by trying to have my father killed?’

  ‘Say, easy gal, easy,’ drawled Sue, not losing her temper, suspecting the other girl to be a victim of cowhand humor. ‘It’s not often he goes after fathers. Mostly it’s the other way around, they come after him with a scattergun and a marrying gleam in their eyes.’

  If Sue had treated the matter more seriously it might have been explained away. Unfortunately she did not and Louise suspected something more than friendly good nature behind the words. She thought Sue recognized her and was playing with her like a cat with a mouse.

  ‘You know what I mean!’ she snapped. ‘Your brother hired men to try and kill my father in Nashville, then again on the trail. Then you sent the Apaches after our wagon train.’

  The laughter left Sue’s eyes and her voice dropped hard and cold. It was a warning sign
which any of the Lazy O crew and most of Backsight’s citizens could read. When Sue Ortega stopped smiling it became time to hunt for cover.

  ‘Just what in all hell are you yapping about?’ Sue demanded.

  ‘You know!’ Louise answered, her voice rising a shade. ‘You know full well what your brother has been—’

  ‘Now wait a minute,’ Sue put in, taking Louise’s appearance in for what it was. ‘Did a good-looking young cowhand with a bright red shirt and a bandana you could see from here to the Texas line tell you about Terry?’

  ‘You know it wasn’t. Your brother doesn’t want us to build a town here.’

  ‘A town! Now I know you’re fooling me. Terry and I want a town here, we’ve been hoping one would be built but it never has.’

  Louise stared at the other girl. ‘You’re a liar!’

  Which proved to be about the worst thing Louise could have said. Sue, range born and bred, lived in a world where the word ‘liar’ was never used unless followed by the crash of shots or the thud of a blow. She moved, her hand coming around in a smooth swing, the fist catching Louise on the cheek and spinning her into the corral rail. The ranch girl was quivering with fury but just managed to hold herself in check.

  ‘A joke’s a joke, but this has gone far enough!’

  Louise came away from the rail with a squeal of rage. Never since childhood had another woman struck her and her rage burst like the floodwaters of a dam. She hurled forward with fists swinging wildly, feeling them strike the other girl, then she was sent staggering by another hard punch.

  ‘All right!’ Sue hissed. ‘If that’s how you wa—’

  The words ended as Louise swung her own fist. In her childhood around the army camps Louise had learned to look after herself in the hair-yanking brawls. Jim Lourde taught her to use her fists and although she gave up such habits as she grew up the instinct was still there.

  The girls hurled themselves at each other once more. They seemed to come together in mid-air, hands swinging, then digging into hair. Each girl tore and pulled at the other’s hair with one hand, swinging, gripping and punching with the other. They spun around a few times then went to the ground, rolling over with wild thrashing arms and legs. It was a female brawl with no skill in it as they rolled over and over to the accompaniment of squeals, screams and yells of pain and fury. Louise rolled the other girl away and started to come to her feet but Sue tackled her around the waist in a dive which brought them both crashing down again. Louise wrapped her legs around Sue and squeezed hard, her muscles toughened by the long journey, brought a gasp of pain. Desperately and by blind instinct Louise tried to hold the grip and Sue tried just as hard to get out of it. Gripping one of the constricting legs Sue forced it up, ducked under it and caught a punch which sent her rolling over. Louise was at her straight away and they sailed over to fight their way to their feet again.

  ‘Had enough?’ Sue gasped, fists clenched, hair tangled and breasts heaving, Louise brought across a punch which staggered Sue and came in. The girls used their fists like two men for a time, swinging wild punches which connected or missed, depending on luck. Then they closed with each other again and went sprawling to the ground. In their thrashing wild tangle they did not notice the way they rolled, straight towards the wildly stamping hooves of the paint cowpony.

  Red Blaze and Terry Ortega came walking towards the Lone Star saloon when they heard the sounds of the fight behind the houses. Terry looked at Red with a grin and said:

  ‘Sounds like my lil sister’s in town. Let’s go and meet her.’ The two men found the bout of female fisticuffs going at full pace. Louise knelt on the ground at a temporary disadvantage for Sue was behind her, swinging wild slaps and blows at the other girl. Louise grabbed over her shoulder and caught Sue’s hair and heaved, bringing the ranch girl over then piling on to her again.

  ‘Stop ’em, Red!’ Terry yelled, for they rolled towards the stamping pinto.

  Red jumped forward. He recognized Louise and wondered what brought her to town then tangled her in this unladylike wildcat brawl. He was also interested in the other girl. Happen Terry called it right and this was his sister, the picture at the house must be old, her being full growed and right nice looking. That showed even all mussed-up and hawk-wild like she appeared right now.

  There was no time for thought, or southern chivalry, for the girls had rolled near the horse. Red bent, grabbing one of each girl’s thrashing feet, hauling them bodily clear and not a moment too soon. The pinto’s lashing, stamping hooves drove down to where Louise’s head lay a moment before.

  The problem of stopping the fight did not cease for the girls clung to each other, swinging wild slaps and punches. Red bent, grabbing Sue who happened to be on top at that moment then hauled her clear of Louise. The girls tried to cling on and land more blows but Red tore them apart. Sue screamed wildly as she struggled to get free and defend herself from Louise who was getting to her feet, eyes wild with rage and fists clenched ready to attack again.

  Terry jumped forward, his good arm going around Louise’s waist to hold her. Luckily for him Louise felt exhausted and suddenly realized what she’d been doing. She gave a gasp and went limp in Terry’s grip, every inch of her body aching and burning with shame at her actions. She began to sob and hung in Terry’s grip.

  Sue did not sob. She struggled wildly and one of her thrashing feet caught Red on the shin, causing him to use some words he did not often employ in the presence of the opposite sex.

  ‘Lemme loose!’ Sue screamed wildly. ‘Lemme at her, you long-eared, spavined no-account drink of dirty water!’ Which proved to be an unfortunate choice of terms.

  ‘Water, ma’am,’ drawled Red, scooping the girl under his arm so she could not use her arms and her legs thrashed harmlessly. ‘Why sure, anything to oblige a lady.’

  With that Red carried the girl to the water trough and held her over it.

  ‘Lemme go, da—!’ Sue growled, still struggling. Then for the first time became aware of her position in relation with the water trough. ‘No! Don’t you d—’

  The words ended in a gurgling yell and splash as Sue landed face down in the water, going right under and coming up again with unladylike curses spluttering like fire-crackers from her lips. Red extended a hand, placed it on Sue’s head and pushed her back under water. On rising again Sue was silent, she twisted her head to look up, grinned and said:

  ‘Let up, red-top. I’m good now.’

  Reaching down Red helped the girl from the water. Ignoring the wet state of her clothes Sue turned to look at her brother as he comforted Louise by the corral. Sue reached up and gently touched her swollen right eye, winced, removed the hand then gave a gasp and pulled her shirtwaist together finding enough buttons remaining to allow her to retain some semblance of respectability.

  ‘All right, Sue,’ Terry growled, bringing Louise forward to sit her on the edge of the trough. ‘What started all this?’

  ‘That’s what I’d like to know,’ Sue replied, holding her jaw and working it before carrying on. ‘Said something about my hoss and we got on all right until I mentioned my name. Then she started on about you setting Apaches to kill her pappy. I thought Duke’d met her and been jobbing her at first. Reckon we lost our tempers and landed on each other tooth ’n’ claw, which same this gal’s not bad at.’

  Louise had in some measure regained control of herself. She managed to make her blouse meet and regain modesty, then recognized Red for the first time.

  ‘Red,’ she gasped, indicating Sue. ‘This’s Terry Ortega’s sister.’

  ‘Do tell,’ drawled Red and nodded to Sue. ‘Right pleased to meet you, ma’am. And seeing’s how we’re getting acquainted, Miss Louise Raines, this here’s Terry Ortega’s sister’s only brother.’

  It took Louise a long moment to understand Red’s meaning. She was gently feeling her left eye with a careful fingertip but jerked it away and stared at a solemn Terry then at Red and Sue, who grinned at her surprise.


  ‘Then you’re—’

  ‘That’s right, Miss Louise. I’m Terry Ortega.’

  Sue sat up and rubbed her hip where it hurt from either hitting the ground or a kick, she was not sure which. She turned a warm grin towards Red. ‘I’m sorry I called you all those names, even if they were true and I meant them. Say, Louise gal, what started you into hair-yanking with me? Not that it wasn’t as good a round as I ever had.’

  Louise stared at the Ortega family and made a decision. They were such nice and friendly people even though she and Sue had fought, that she felt she could trust them. Sue listened to Louise’s explanation without a word then at the end let out a couple of salty curses which drew an admiring grin from Red. Louise ended her explanation and after Sue’s comments went on:

  ‘I’m really sorry, Sue. I can’t think what came over me.’

  ‘I did for one thing,’ Sue grinned. ‘Say, I bet we have two dandy black eyes comes night. Won’t that start the gals around town talking?’

  Louise took Sue’s hand, feeling the other girl’s firm and strong grip. In her childhood Louise had been involved in more than one hair-yanking brawl for she led a tomboyish existence around the boot camps of the army. Since growing up she put aside such things as beneath the dignity of a lady. In a flash she saw Sue did not regard the affair in such a light and any attempt to show disapproval would end their friendship, for the ranch girl was willing to become a friend.

  ‘Say,’ drawled Red. ‘Nobody’s introduced me. Miss Ortega, I’m Red Blaze of the Rio Hondo country of Texas.’

  ‘No,’ scoffed Sue, ‘I’d never have guessed, Montana maybe, even New York, but I’d never have guessed you came from Texas.’

  ‘Happen I’d known there was a gal like you in Arizona I’d’ve been out this way afore now.’

  Sue studied Red for a long moment, ignoring the water which still dripped from her hair and soaked clothing. ‘That sounds like it’s been said more’n once. How many gals have you tried it on?’