The Devil's Bonanza (A Piccadilly Publishing Western Book

by Patrick E. Andrews

“It’s those eastern directors,” Treadwell said. “Let me tell you ladies, I wrote them many letters begging—yes, begging—for them to reconsider and grant extensions. But they just won’t see things my way.”

  “We appreciate you trying to be of help,” Mary Beth said.

  “They just don’t understand us westerners out here, I guess,” Treadwell said, even though taking over the Commerce Bank in Dodge City had been his first trip west of the Mississippi River. “But if those fancy pants could get to know the men who farm the Flats, they would understand what this situation is all about and come across with a little common sense.”

  “We certainly wish they would,” Elvira said.

  “How long did you say the men would be gone?” Treadwell asked.

  “I think three or four weeks,” Elvira said. “Maybe more. Maybe less. We really don’t know for sure.”

  “I hope this business they’re tending to proves beneficial for everybody,” Treadwell said. “Like paying off those notes.”

  “We hope so too,” Edna Lee said.

  “Were they going to sell something or maybe buy into some business dealings?” Treadwell asked.

  “The men didn’t explain theyselves fully,” Mary Beth Dawkins said. “They just said it was business to attend to. That’s all we know, Mr. Treadwell.”

  Treadwell, sensing something extraordinary was in the works, began stalling. “I just wish I had a chance to speak with them. I really feel awful about this whole situation.”

  “We all do, Mr. Treadwell,” Elvira said.

  “I’ve been doing business with you folks here on the Flats for awhile,” Treadwell continued. “I hope you’ll always feel you can trust me and confide in me. I can manage a favor now and then. Or even give sound business advice.”

  “The only favor we need is an extension on our loans,” Elvira said coolly.

  Treadwell could sense her hostility and thought it best to leave the house before an open confrontation occurred. He stood up. “Well, I must go now.” He went to the door and turned back. “It may seem I can be of absolutely no use to you, but I feel I may possibly be able to serve you in some way. If there’s anything—other than those loans—please don’t hesitate to call on me. No matter what the favor.”

  “We thank you kindly, Mr. Treadwell,” Elvira said “And I’ll tell Ed you want to see him.”

  Treadwell went back to his buckboard and drove away. He tried figure out what kind of business in Colorado or Amarillo the sodbusters could possibly have. Were they going to give up in Kansas and try to acquire land elsewhere? Perhaps there was a source of money somewhere out there for them. His mind was now crowded with suspicions.

  If those yokels are trying something, he thought. I’ll deal with them so damned quick they’ll think they stepped into a prairie twister.

  ~*~

  The day’s activities in the settlement were interrupted when the foreman of the relief mining crew returned unexpectedly. He went straight to Elder Brother’s office, grief stricken with horrible news. He gasped out the details of the massacre of the workers in the mine shaft, weeping almost uncontrollably as the religious leader listened in shocked dismay.

  After all those years of harassment and cruelty, Elder Brother had thought the Brethren were at last far away from any violent reactions of Outsiders toward them. But it seemed the hatred that had dogged his steps for decades had come back with an newer more evil resurgence.

  “Take me to the scene of horror,” Elder Brother told the foreman. “Fetch Deacon Daniel and meet me at the stable.”

  ~*~

  Now Elder Brother stood in the stirrups as he urged his horse on. His reaction to overt attacks against the Communal Faith was evidenced by the extra weapons Deacon Daniel who followed him carried. He and the foreman had to whip their horses to keep up with their leader.

  Elder Brother was a tall, thin man. His elongated jaw was ringed by the Brethren’s obligatory well-trimmed beard. The most striking feature about the man was his eyes. They seemed to flame out at the world with their deep blue color, and the high-arched black eyebrows emphasized the zealousness that dominated his life.

  The three arrived at the mine and reined to a halt. All swung out of their saddles and looked down at their dead brothers. The new crew had brought the corpses out of the shaft and tenderly laid them out face-up. As Elder Brother dismounted he could see that any wound of the many they had received could have been the fatal ones.

  “Who found them?” Elder Brother asked.

  “I did,” one of the miners by the name of Brother Uziel answered.

  “Where were they?”

  Brother Coniah stepped forward. “They were bunched up together at the end of the shaft. I don’t think they knew what hit them.”

  “God in his mercy granted them a quick death,” Elder Brother said in a strained voice. “And the gold is gone, is it?”

  “Every bit,” Brother Coniah said. “There is not a sack nor a nugget left, Elder Brother.”

  “We need that gold, Brethren,” Elder Brother said. “There is no possible way we shall be able to carry out the Holy Design of the Communal Faith without it. And I solemnly promise this; we have suffered our last injustice and cruelty at the hands of Outsiders. From this moment on we are striking back! We shall retrieve our gold and continue our work in the sacred obligation that God has given us. Our plans will proceed to build a fine settlement, seed it, acquire animals and the raw material to manufacture all our earthly necessities. We shall stay away from the evil of the Outside World to follow the tenets of our faith, and grow strong under God’s wisdom and protection.

  “So be it by the Communal Faith!” the others intoned in unison as was their custom.

  Elder Brother started to speak again when his eyes suddenly rolled upward and he fell to the ground. Deacon Daniel and Brother Coniah rushed to him and turned him over on his back.

  “He has fallen into one of his trances,” Deacon Daniel said. “God wants to give him divine counseling and guidance.”

  Brother Coniah nodded his head in agreement. “He could be in that holy state for hours.”

  Deacon Daniel left to search the surrounding area. When he returned fifteen minutes later, he was surprised to see that Elder Brother had awakened. Deacon Daniel and Brother Coniah helped him to his feet. After a deep breath, their leader spoke in a trembling voice. “Our Lord God calls for vengeance!”

  “Elder Brother,” Deacon Daniel said, “I looked around the old smelting building and had no trouble seeing the tracks on the ground. There was six of ’em and they headed east down the mountain.”

  Elder Brother turned to look up into the eyes of his subordinate. “Can you follow them, Deacon Daniel?”

  “I scouted for the army a bit more’n five years in the fight against the Kiowas and Comanches. I left that violent life to settle into the peace and tranquility of the Communal Faith. But if I gotta go back to violent ways to do this job, I’ll do her. And I reckon as to how I ain’t lost my touch from the way I read the tracks them sinners left behind.”

  Elder Brother’s face showed a fierce happiness. “God is renewing your skills to serve him, Deacon Daniel.” He looked skyward, uttering a prayer. “Thank you, Lord! We have suffered much in the past. Our people have been lynched and scourged in thousands of ways while bearing the brunt of Satan’s influence over weaker men. But this time it is different. I promise we shall exact our revenge against the evil Outsiders who committed this unspeakable wickedness. We shall track them to the ends of the earth you created for us, and we shall send their miserable souls unto you to be cast into hellfire!”

  “So be it by the Communal Faith!” the others recited.

  Elder Brother got to his feet. “We shall cease mining until the wicked Outsiders experience our righteous justice. The brothers here will make up our expedition.” He looked at the men standing around him. “Deacon Daniel! Brother Pascal! Brother Coniah! Brother Joab! Brother Elisha! Brother Abijah! Brother
Uziel! Are you ready?”

  They shouted their mutual agreement.

  “Then let us go to the settlement and arrange for provisions,” Elder Brother said. “And we will not forget to include rifles, pistols and ammunition from the armory. That will make us a holy force of eight fully-armed men!” He paused for a moment, then added, “And we must bring rope as well! Enough to hang six sinners.”

  “Amen!” the group pronounced as a general scramble for their horses began.

  Chapter Seven

  Once again Banker Treadwell rode out to the Flats in his buckboard. But this time he wasn’t alone. Eldon, the eldest boy of J.R. and Mary Beth Dawkins, sat beside him on the seat. The mule the boy had ridden into Dodge City to fetch the banker was tied to the back of the vehicle.

  Treadwell waited until they were past the town limits before he asked the uppermost question in his mind. “Has your father and the other men returned home, Eldon?”

  “No, sir,” the boy replied. “They’re still gone.”

  “I see. Well, did your mother mention what business she wished to discuss with me?”

  “No, sir, Mr. Treadwell,” Eldon replied. “She just told me to go fetch you. She asked that you go the long way so’s you don’t pass nobody’s place ’til you get to ours so nobody’ll know you’re visiting her.”

  Treadwell smiled. “Well, if that’s what your mother wants, that’s the way we’ll do it, Eldon.”

  “You be sure and tell her I told you what she said, Mr. Treadwell. She’ll smack me one if she thinks I forgot.”

  “I certainly will, Eldon.”

  They continued toward the Dawkins place. There was no actual road leading to the farm; only a rough track across the open fields. Treadwell’s curiosity about Mary Beth Dawkins’ request to talk to him kept his thoughts occupied during the bumpy ride.

  The other three Dawkins children silently watched as the buckboard rolled into the farmyard. The house was in need of some minor repairs along with a dab of paint here and there. The fencing around the corral was also neglected. Treadwell stepped from the buckboard just as Mary Beth appeared in the door.

  “Hello, Mr. Treadwell.”

  “How do you do, Mrs. Dawkins,” he replied, walking up to her. “A mighty fine day, is it not?”

  “Indeed it is,” she replied. “Won’t you step inside?”

  “Yes, thank you. By the way, Eldon wanted me to tell you that we came out here the long way so we wouldn’t pass any of the other farms. I am pleased to report we did so.”

  “Thank you very much,” Mary Beth said, obviously relieved.

  If the outside of the dwelling reflected the husband’s inattention, the interior gave evidence of Mary Beth’s careful housekeeping. The kitchen was neat and well-arranged and the floor showed the result of regular scrubbing. Even the wood furniture had obviously been dusted often and thoroughly.

  “Please sit down, Mr. Treadwell. Would you care for some coffee?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  “I feel I should beg your pardon for the way you was treated over at the McKenna house the other day,” Mary Beth said, serving hm. “But there wasn’t nothing I could do about it.”

  “I didn’t notice any real impoliteness.”

  “Elviry was kind of brisk toward you,” Mary Beth said with scold in her voice. “I must tell you, I was plumb shamed. Indeed I was.”

  “I appreciate your consideration.”

  “Would you like a cushion? That old chair is hard as a rock.”

  Treadwell shook his head. “No, thank you, Mrs. Dawkins. This is fine.”

  She sat down and smiled at him. There was an awkward silence for a moment or so before she cleared her throat and spoke. “I…well, I asked you here to talk about something that might be of inter’st to you.”

  “I see,” Treadwell said, deciding to let her tell him whatever it was she wanted at her own speed. “The coffee is very good. Just the way I like it.”

  “You’re just being kind, but thank you.” She sat smiling a moment more before continuing to speak. “Would you make an extry special effort on your part about one of them loans if you could learn something that would surprise you?”

  Treadwell thought a moment. “That would depend on my superiors in Boston, Mrs. Dawkins. But if the information was remarkable enough they would probably go to any lengths to express their gratitude. Perhaps even extend time on a certain loan.”

  “Oh, my,” she said. “Would that mean you’d have to write a letter all the way back east and wait for an answer?”

  “No, Mrs. Dawkins. In unusual circumstances I have the authority to do things on my own. Of course if I made a mistake, I would lose my position at the bank.”

  “I must tell you I have some information about the situation on them loans,” Mary Beth said. “But I cain’t say nothing unless you promise my husband J.R. an extension.”

  Treadwell thought a moment. He knew the information she spoke of would be about the mysterious business trip the sodbusters were taking. The fact that something most strange and unusual was going on could not be denied. His mind turned the matter over several times before he answered.

  “Mrs. Dawkins, if you give me information regarding that business, and if that intelligence has some bearing on those loans, I promise you here and now an extension on your papers. How’s that?”

  “Do you swear? Swear to the Lord above?”

  “I swear to the Lord above,” Treadwell said.

  “You know if you go back on a promise like that, you’ll burn in hell for all eternity.”

  “Indeed I know that, Mrs. Dawkins. And I certainly intend to keep a promise I swore to the Lord.”

  “Well, sir,” Mary Beth began, deciding to stick to the story the men told them rather than the truth about the robbery. “Ed McKenna’s brother Ben’s got this gold claim over in Colorado. It’s about played out so he’s offered the men here on the Flats a chance to go over there and pan it dry with him. When they’re finished they’re going to Amarillo to sell the gold to a banker Ben knows. They they’ll hotfoot it back up here and pay off them loans before you know what’s happening.”

  Treadwell was stunned, but he hid his surprise. “Now I understand why you’re revealing this to me.”

  “Well, something might go wrong. I just don’t want to take no chances, that’s all.”

  “I see,” Treadwell said. He handed her the coffee cup. “I appreciate the information, Mrs. Dawkins. And, of course, you have the extension on your loan no matter what happens. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Oh, thank you kindly, Mr. Treadwell.”

  “I must get back to town now. I have a lot of business to attend to.”

  Mary Beth walked him to the door. “Thank you again, Mr. Treadwell. I’m so relieved.”

  “So am I, Mrs. Dawkins. Believe me; so am I.”

  ~*~

  The posse formed by the Brethren of the Communal Faith followed after their appointed tracker Deacon Daniel. Their send-off by the people at the settlement had been spontaneous but emotional. Those staying behind gathered at the meeting house to ask God’s blessing on the enterprise. The men, in their somber attire, were proud of their brethren leaving to both avenge the deaths of the miners as well as retrieve the gold. The women, with most silently weeping, stood respectfully in the rear of the crowd, and the widows of the dead wondered which of the men they would soon be assigned to as wives.

  The members of the posse were similarly armed from the settlement’s armory. Each man carried a Springfield Model 1884 breech-loading carbine that were the type used by the U.S. Army. For sidearms, their holsters contained Colt single-action .45 caliber revolvers. There was also plenty of ammunition for both types of weapons. All this had been donated to them by an anonymous sympathizer in Wichita, Kansas after Elder Brother had been publically humiliated and badly injured by the tarring-and-feathering he suffered in the town.

  ~*~

  Deacon Daniel rode back fr
om a scouting expedition to the main group. He halted in front of Elder Brother. The six Brethren, sitting their horses, listened with intense interest to the exchange between the two.

  Daniel, winded from a fast ride, took a deep breath and said, “They’ve turned southeast. Prob’ly going to the Injun Territory or Texas. And they ain’t taking much trouble hiding their trail. It looks like they didn’t expect nobody to track after ’em.”

  “A fatal mistake on their part,” Elder Brother said. “I wish I knew who that seventh party was who joined them.”

  “I cain’t figger out nothing on that,” Deacon Daniel said. “The only thing them tracks tell me is that he waited for ’em in their camp and that he’s a little feller.”

  “Whether he was involved in the killing at the mine or not, he shall pay the full price for the crime,” Elder Brother stated. “The Lord is revealing this trail to us so that we might hurry up his terrible vengeance. He does not want us to tarry.”

  “Let’s go then,” Deacon Daniel said. “The faster we dog ’em, the faster we’ll catch ’em and get our gold back.”

  “And punish those evil men as they should be,” Elder Brother added.

  “There’s another thing working against them sinners,” Deacon Daniel said. “They’re going into country that I know better’n the back of my hand. That’s exactly where I scouted for the Army against the Injuns.”

  Elder Brother smiled. “You are surely an instrument of God. Be proud and grateful for the Lord’s trust in you, Deacon Daniel.” He turned to his followers. “Let us follow after Deacon Daniel to our quarry.”

  The group spurred their horses to a gallop.

  ~*~

  The man at the Dodge City livery barn, took charge of Treadwell’s buggy, and the banker walked back to his office with an occupied mind. He barely acknowledged the greetings he received on the street, answering all with an absent-minded nod of his head.

  He went through the bank’s front door, spotting Lorimer Jacks near the tellers’ cages. “Come with me,” Treadwell ordered.

  The guard sensed something important was up as he followed his boss into the office. “Is something wrong, Mr. Treadwell?”