Wanted: A Western Story Collection

by Robert J. Thomas

  “We each need a shot of whiskey and a mug of beer.”

  After the drinks had been brought to the table, Hunt picked up his shot glass and lifted it as a toast. “Here’s to a successful mission.” Everyone downed their whiskey and then quickly cooled their throats with the beer.

  Ben related the story, and it pleased Hunt.

  “That was a smart way to get the vigilante to show himself. Horse, what’s this nonsense about toothache medicine?”

  Horse grinned and pulled the bottle from his shirt pocket while Ben and the others began chuckling. “Hunt, this is guaranteed to cure a toothache instantly. See, it even says that right on the bottle.”

  Hunt looked at the bottle and said, “Horse, this is cocaine. This stuff will kill yah.”

  “Nah, the medicine man I bought it from said you just rub a drop on the gum around an aching tooth, and it quits hurting.”

  “Have you tried it?”

  “Nah, not yet. I think I’ll try it on the landlady’s dog. If he doesn't go into convulsions or dies, I might try it to see what it feels like.”

  “What will you say to the landlady if the dog dies?”

  “Nothing, she’d be mad at me. I never liked the dog anyway. Stupid dogs bites my pant leg when I come home.”

  Bridge spoke up. “He’s been trying to get people to try it, and so far no one will cooperate with him.”

  “Horse, I’d take this over to the doctor and ask him if he thinks it’s safe to use. You could end up poisoning yourself.”

  “I’m going over to visit with Judge Moore. We’ll set a time for the trial.”

  “Remember what the vigilante said about his brothers,” Ben said. “I don’t know if he was just threatening us, or if he really has two brothers as bad as he is. Just keep an eye out for strangers with tied down guns.”

  “I always do,” Hunt said as he walked out and stopped on the boardwalk and rolled a cigarette. He struck a match on the hitching rail, lit his cigarette, and mounted Gunner.

  Hunt rode to the courthouse and tossed his cigarette butt into the street before entering the courthouse.

  He tapped on the judge’s door, and the judge asked him to come in.

  “Hunt, what’s on your mind?” Judge Moore asked as he looked up.

  “Your honor, we arrested a man that has killed three men. His brother was killed when he pulled a gun. An unarmed man tried to take the gun away, and the gun went off, killing the man that had pulled the gun. His brother showed up and killed one man that had the same first name, but he killed the wrong man. Two other miners ordered him to leave, and he shot them. One man left to get help, and he shot the other two. He refuses to give us his name. Madison was his dead brother’s last name.”

  “I can see him tomorrow at 8:00.”

  “Thanks, Judge. I’ll have him there.”

  “Oh, try to find out his first name, so we can do a search for wanted posters.”

  Hunt left the courthouse and rode to the office. He tied Gunner to the hitching rail and crossed the dirt street to send a telegram.

  Bekins-U.S. Marshal-Chicago (stop) Arrested a man with the last name of Madison (stop) He killed three men in a vigilante vendetta (stop) Refuses to give us a first name (stop) Man is six foot, two hundred pounds,-black hair, very hostile personality (stop) Hunt

  “Send this right away, Mitch,” Hunt said as he tossed a quarter onto the counter.

  Hunt walked across the street to the office and entered.

  “Anything going on, Jason?” Hunt asked.

  “No, it’s pretty quiet for a change.”

  “We have a prisoner, and the trial’s set for 8:00 in the morning. Go home. I’ll close up and see you tomorrow.”

  Hunt sat at his desk and reviewed a few telegrams.

  None was urgent, so he blew out the lanterns in the office and locked the door.

  Hunt rode to the sheriff’s office and informed Drake of the 8:00 appointment in Judge Henry Moore’s courtroom. “We’ll be here by 7:30 to escort Mr. Madison to the courthouse.”

  Hunt walked out and rolled a cigarette on the boardwalk as he looked up and down the street. Not seeing anyone or anything unusual, he mounted Gunner and rode home.

  Hunt was up early the next morning and rode to the café. He met Clayton, Ben, and Earl at the café, and they talked about the prisoner and the upcoming trial.

  “I read your reports,” Hunt said. “You men did an excellent job of setting a trap and arresting the prisoner without gunfire.”

  “Yeah,” Ben said. “If we had searched for him, we’d still be looking. I figured our best plan of action was to let him come to us.”

  “That was smart. By having Ty knock him out, it saved gunplay.”

  Horse and Bridge walked into the café. “Hey,” Horse said as he grinned broadly, “I’m back beautiful. I’ll have a plate of 8 flapjacks, six eggs, a side of bacon, and a gallon of coffee.”

  Marge shouted at him, “Horse Crabtree, when are you going to learn to sit down and order like a gentleman?”

  Jack, Marge’s husband, chuckled as he began fixing Horse’s breakfast.

  Marge brought them coffee, and Marge said, “Horse, I swear, you give me a headache. Why can’t you just come in and order like everyone else?’

  “Sorry, Marge. I just thought I’d give yah a heads up to save you time. By the way, do you have a toothache?”

  “No, don’t tell me you’re practicing to be a dentist.”

  “Nope, I got me some of this here toothache medicine,” Horse said as he pulled the small bottle from his shirt pocket and showed it to her. “The man that sold it to me says it’ll cure a toothache instantly.”

  “It’s cocaine. Have you been drinking it?”

  “Nope, but I tried some on the landlady’s dog, and he was still alive this morning, but he won’t come near me now.”

  Everyone chuckled as they ate, and Horse put the bottle back into his shirt pocket.

  Marge slapped Horse on the back of the head and said, “When are you ever going to grow up?” She walked away shaking her head.

  “Men,” Hunt said as he stood. “I need everyone at the sheriff’s office at 7:30. Trial starts at 8:00.”

  Hunt walked out and looked around. Some of the businesses were opening up. He noticed lanterns being lit in different stores, and a Conestoga wagon rolled through town pulled by four oxen. “Another settler moving in,” Hunt said to himself.

  Hunt rode to his office, and after lighting the lanterns, he built a fire in the potbellied stove, prepared a pot of coffee, and sat it on the stove to heat up.

  After the fire had begun roaring, he added two larger pieces of firewood and closed the door on the stove.

  Hunt was sitting in his office reviewing telegrams when the door opened. Two strangers walked in that Hunt had never seen them before. One man was close to forty, and he was large in the shoulders, had blue eyes, and stood at least six foot tall. The other man was a few inches shorter and appeared to be in his thirties. He was also stoutly built. Both men had a hard look on their face and stood rigidly as Hunt stood.

  “Can I help you?” Hunt asked.

  “I’m Jed Madison, this is my brother, Joe. We heard you arrested our brother.”

  “What’s your brother’s name?”

  “Gary Madison. We got word that our brother Ray had been killed. Gary got there ahead of us. When we got there, we were told the U.S. Marshals had arrested him and brought him to Denver.”

  “Well, I didn’t arrest him, but some of my men did. He’s charged with killing three men. He shot them in cold blood. His trial is being held at the courthouse at 8:00. You’re welcome to come to the trial, but no guns are allowed in the courtroom.”

  “That’s just hearsay, he didn’t kill anyone in cold blood.”

  “We have about sixty witnesses that say he did. One of the men he killed wasn’t even armed. Your brother is standing trial for the cold-blooded murder of three men. I have signed statements from the m
en that saw what happened.”

  The bigger man, Jed, looked at Joe. “If this is true, he’s a dead man. They’ll hang him for sure.”

  “You two seem level headed. What’s wrong with Gary?”

  “What do you mean?” Jed asked.

  “He’s hostile, hateful, and all he can talk about is killing everyone. Is he touched?”

  “Gary’s got a short fuse. It doesn't take much to set him off. His old lady went away with their kid. Gary can’t find them. He swears when he finds them he’s going to kill his old lady and take his son so he can raise him right. We told him to let it go, and he went crazy. That’s when we got word that Ray had been killed. A day before that, our Ma passed away. We stayed for the funeral, and he took off.”

  “When we got to La Veta, we found out he was arrested. But no one told us he had killed anyone.”

  Hunt said, “If you come to the trial, you’ll hear the whole story. If you try to interfere or free him, you’ll be shot or arrested. So my advice is to sit and remain quiet if you come to the hearing and don’t forget to leave your guns in the saddlebags.”

  Jed looked at Joe and said, “Thanks, Marshal. You’re the first one that I think has told us the truth. Let’s go, Joe.”

  They turned and walked out. Hunt slipped the leather loop over his pistol hammer and walked out and locked the door. He watched the two brothers ride to the courthouse and dismount. They removed their gun holsters and stuffed them in their saddle bags before climbing the stairs and entering the courthouse.

  Hunt walked to the sheriff’s office and joined his men. He related the story of the two brothers and said that he found them to be of sound mind.

  They brought the prisoner out, and Hunt said, “Gary, we have to put leg irons on. It’s the law, so make it easy on yourself and cooperate.”

  “Who’s Gary?” he asked with a curled lip.

  “Well, that’s what your brothers said your name was. Would they lie to me?”

  “What….? My brothers are here?”

  “Yup, they seemed like level headed fellers. We had a nice talk about you. Too bad you aren’t more like your kin.”

  He became angry and shouted, “You’d better let me go, or there will be a lot of dead people in Denver.”

  “Shut up Gary,” Horse said as he slapped him on the side of the head. “You’re starting to get on my nerves.”

  They led the prisoner to the side door of the courthouse and entered. Hunt noticed a crowd of people gathering to attend the trial.

  “Word spreads fast when we have a murderer on trial,” Hunt said.

  They entered the courtroom and pushed an angry prisoner to the courtroom. Gary spotted his two brothers sitting in the second row directly behind where he would be sitting.

  Gary looked at his brothers and shouted, “What are you doing? Shoot them. Kill them all. Get me out of here.”

  “Sit down and shut up Gary,” Jed said. “Don’t make it worse than it already is.”

  Gary was angry when he was forced to sit at the table next to Jeffrey Hamilton, his defense attorney.

  “Who the hell are you?” Gary asked as he looked at Jeffrey.

  “I’m Jeffrey Hamilton, your attorney. Remember, I came and talked to you in the jail last night. You didn’t want to speak to me and threw your coffee cup at me. So I’ll do the best I can for you. It would have been to your advantage to talk to me.”

  “I don’t have to speak to you. I don’t have to talk to anyone. Just turn me loose.”

  The jury entered the courtroom, and moments later Judge Moore came. Everyone stood except for the prisoner. Hunt jerked him to his feet, and he began cursing and told Hunt to take his hands off of him.

  Everyone sat and Hunt shoved Gary down into his seat.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” He shouted at Hunt.

  Judge Moore looked at the prisoner and said, “Attorney Hamilton, control your client, or I will have him secured and gagged.”

  “Who the hell do you think you are?’ Gary shouted at Judge Moore.

  Judge Moore looked at Hunt and said, “Secure the prisoner and gag him.”

  Gary struggled as they tied him to his chair and wrapped a gag around his mouth and tied it in the back of his head. “Well, it didn’t take you long to impress the judge and jury, did it?” Hunt said as he sat down behind Gary on the wooden bench.

  The trial lasted for two hours. Ben, Horse, Ty, Duke, and Bridge were all called to relate their version of the story and were questioned by both Prosecuting Attorney, Jack Crawford, and the defense attorney, Jeffrey Hamilton while Gary struggled in his chair and mumbled threats.

  The jury was released for deliberation, and they walked Gary back to his cell.

  After placing Gary into his cell, they walked to the Dollar Saloon to have a drink.

  Hunt noticed Gary’s two brothers standing at the bar sipping on a short glass of whiskey.

  The men sat down and ordered a round of beer. Jed and his brother Joe walked over to their table. Hunt was relieved to see they had left their gun holsters in the saddlebags.

  “It doesn’t look good for Gary,” Jed said as he looked at Hunt. “What do you think will happen to him?”

  “I think he’ll be hung,” Hunt said. “He murdered three men. He leaves the judge with no choice.”

  “Gary is full of anger. I asked him to wait until we buried Ma, and we’d ride with him. Next thing I knew, he was gone. He wouldn’t listen to anyone. Now, he’s got himself in a jam. I’m glad Ma’s not alive, it would break her heart.”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry,” Hunt said. “We have a job to do. We can’t allow someone to go around killing innocent, unarmed people. We could have shot him in La Veta, but the men did what they are trained to do. They arrested him without firing a shot. We aren’t vigilantes. We’re professional lawmen. We arrest them and leave it up to the jury and the judge. We only kill them when they leave us no choice.”

  Jed and Joe returned to the bar and finished their drink, and then they left.

  After finishing their beer, they returned to the jail, and a court runner was there, telling them to return the prisoner to the courthouse for the verdict.

  They escorted an outraged prisoner across the street, and when they sat him in his chair, Hunt said, “Keep your mouth shut unless you’re asked to speak. We’ll gag you again if you speak out of turn.”

  “Go to hell,” he hissed at Hunt, “And take your hands off of me.”

  Moments later the jury entered the courtroom, and the hard looks they were giving the defendant told the story of their verdict.

  Judge Moore entered the courtroom, and he waved Hunt off when he saw Hunt about to jerk the accused to his feet.

  Judge Moore asked, “Has the jury reached a verdict?”

  “Yes, your honor, we have,” the jury foreman said as he stood.

  “How do you find the defendant?”

  “We find the defendant guilty of three counts of cold-blooded murder.”

  Judge Moore looked at Gary and said, “The defendant will rise.”

  “Go to hell you son-of-a-bitch,” he shouted at Judge Moore.

  “Very well,” Judge Moore said as he stared at the defendant. “I see no remorse or sadness in you for shooting to death three innocent men. If you were freed, you would kill again. I, therefore, sentence you to hang by the neck until dead at sunrise tomorrow. The court is adjourned,” he said as he pounded the gavel on the desk, stood and left the courtroom.

  They pulled Gary to his feet, and he turned and shouted at his brothers. “Are you going to just sit there and do nothing?”

  “You shouldn't have shot those men, Gary. You would have broken Ma’s heart. I warned you, but you wouldn’t listen. Now you have to pay for what you’ve done.”

  “C’mon, move it,” Hunt said as he shoved him. They escorted him back to the jail, and he was so hostile that they decided to leave the leg irons on him.

  Hunt and the men stepped out of the she
riff’s office and watched the two brothers standing by their horses.

  They pulled the gun holsters from the saddle bags and put them on. Then they mounted their horses and rode to the hotel and entered.

  Hunt said, “I think they’ll leave tomorrow after the hanging.”

  Jed came from the hotel by himself and walked to the jail. He stopped and looked at Hunt. “After the hanging, we want to take his body home for burial.”

  “That’s not a problem,” Hunt said, “Where’s home?”

  “Elm Grove, Mississippi. We can take the train most of the way. By the way, where is his horse?”

  “It’s in storage,” Hunt replied.

  “I want to take his horse and give it to his son. We know where his wife went with the boy. I helped move her after he nearly beat her to death. She’s hiding out in a cabin not too far from their home.”

  “How old is the boy?”

  “He’s eight, and he was scared of his Pa. I’ll tell him his Pa wanted him to have the horse. Maybe he won’t think so badly of him. I’ll make up something. I’ll tell the boy that his Pa said he loved him.”

  “I understand,” Hunt said. “The horse is being held at the stockyard. After the hanging tomorrow, I’ll go with you to get the horse.”

  “Thanks, Marshal,” he said as he turned and walked back to the hotel.

  Clayton said, “You know, Hunt. I’d say the family will be better off without him.”

  “No question about that,” Hunt said. “I hope Jed takes over and raises the boy. He sounds like he would make a good father.”

  Clayton nodded, “Yeah, a lot better than Gary would.”

  “I’m going home to be with the family. Would you mind closing up, Clayton?”

  “Go ahead, Hunt. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  Hunt returned home and spent a relaxing evening. Beth had prepared a fried chicken dinner, and afterward, he sat with the children in the family room. He held the baby and read a story from the family Bible of David slaying Goliath, the giant, as the other kids giggled and gathered close.

  The next morning Hunt was up early. He added two logs to the fire and went to the barn and saddled Gunner. He knew that he was in for a tough day. He hated the hangings, but it was part of the job.