“Yes, and the windows, too.”
“Good. Have you a ladder?”
In the cramped bedroom behind the cantina, Posey sat in the lone chair at the small table by the window and cleaned his guns. First the Sharps rifle, which was the easiest to break down.
Part of the supplies he picked up in Laredo were two cleaning kits, one for the rifles and another for the Colt.
With a long wire brush, Posey cleaned the barrel of the Sharps until it was spotless. Then he wiped and lightly oiled all moving parts before reassembling the rifle. He repeated the process with the Winchester.
In the cleaning kit for the Colt were tiny tools that he used to remove the screws and carefully take apart the frame and inner workings. With the wire brush, Posey cleaned the bore, then wiped and lightly oiled all the parts.
Once the Colt was reassembled, he loaded six fresh cartridges into the wheel and closed the gate.
“Marshal Posey, are you in there?” Pilar said from outside the room.
Posey holstered the Colt and stepped outside.
“I’ve come to speak with you,” Pilar said.
“Go ahead.”
“When do you expect Spooner’s men to arrive?”
“Tomorrow,” Posey said. “If I were him and the first four didn’t return, that’s all the time I’d give them. Then I’d dispatch more men to find out what happened.”
“And when they arrive?”
“I will kill them,” Posey said.
Pilar stared at Posey.
“Do you object?” Posey asked.
Pilar slowly shook her head.
“I want to help,” she said.
“Out of the question,” Posey said.
“I live in this village and I am free to go where I please,” Pilar said.
“Tomorrow you’re not,” Posey said.
“Let me ask you something Marshal Posey . . . and by the way, what is your first name?”
“My Christian name is John, but I’ve been called Jack since I was a pup.”
“Okay, Marshal Jack Posey, when Spooner’s men ride into the village, what is your plan? There will be people in the square, at the mill and cantina.”
“Joseph will bring everybody into the church and lock it from the inside,” Posey said.
“And leave you alone in the streets?”
“I can’t do what I need to do if I have to worry about you,” Posey said.
“I’m a grown woman, twenty-seven years old. You do not need to worry about me,” Pilar said.
Posey sighed.
“Don’t sigh. Little boys sigh.”
“Maybe you could help Joseph get people into the church,” Posey said.
“I could do that.”
“But you go in with them and lock the doors.”
“I could do that.”
“Can you be in the town square by dawn?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll go in the church when I say so.”
“I said I would.”
“All right then.”
“Can you give me a ride back to the farm?” Pilar said.
“I’ll get my horse.”
Pilar wrapped her arms around Posey’s stomach and said, “Can’t this horse go any faster?”
“Of course he can,” Posey said.
“Then make him go faster,” Pilar said. “My father and brothers will be coming in from the field and will expect supper.”
Posey gave the reins a yank and the massive horse opened his stride.
Pilar held on tight and said, “Better.”
“My cart is full of straw,” Jose said. “All I need to do in the morning is hitch the mule.”
“You made a tall circle of rocks so the fire doesn’t spread?” Posey asked.
“It took all afternoon, but we did,” Jose said.
“Good. Once you set the fire, you get in your cart and ride back here as fast as you can. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Pilar came out to the porch. “Will you be staying for supper, Marshal Posey?”
“Yes, stay,” Jose said. “I insist.”
Riding back to the village after dark, Posey felt an odd sensation. He knew it was in his mind, but as he rode, he could still feel Pilar’s arms wrapped around his stomach and felt the warmth of her touch against his skin.
It was a foreign sensation to him.
A feeling he had no words for.
He had always liked women, but never thought about one before once she was out of his sight.
Pilar’s arms around his waist sent a chill down his spine the likes he hadn’t felt since combat in the war. It was like a sudden surge of unexpected excitement.
The funny part was that she probably had no idea of the sensation she caused him with just a simple touch.
“Jack Posey, you’re nothing but a big dope,” he said aloud as he entered the village.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
* * *
Shortly after dawn, Posey took his Winchester rifle and climbed the ladder behind the church to the roof. From a height of twenty feet, he had a clear, unobstructed view for miles.
He took out his pocket watch, gave it a few winds, and set it on the ledge where he could see it.
He rolled a cigarette and smoked while he watched Pilar walk into the village. She wore blue wrangler pants that hugged her hips, and a black shirt with buttons that did justice to her well-shaped upper body. She wore the Stetson hat to shield the sun and cowboy boots.
She didn’t look up as she met Joseph at the mill where they chatted for a while.
He heard footsteps on the ladder, and a woman from the cantina appeared with a plate of food and a cup of coffee.
“I brought you breakfast, Marshal,” she said in a thick accent.
He took the plate and cup. “Thank you. I appreciate it,” Posey said.
He ate as he watched the horizon.
At the mill, farmers went about their business. Wheat was being ground today, carts full of the grain.
Missing was the chatter and sound of laughter.
Even from the height of the church rooftop, he could see the sense of fear and doom on the townspeople’s faces.
Jose sat in his cart and waited.
The time passed slowly. He had much to think about. A father knows his children, Jose thought. Their different personalities, their likes and dislikes, and even their quirks. Carlos was in a hurry to become a man. He would learn one day that the best time of a man’s life is spent in youth. Roberto had the wanderlust, and Jose knew it wouldn’t be too long before he left the farm in search of adventure. Someday he would learn that adventure begins in a man’s heart and not his location.
Pilar was a woman of the highest regard. She worked the fields with him until her hands bled. As honorable as Tomas was, Jose knew Pilar didn’t love him, and only married him because the Escalante farm was twice the size of his and would assure her family wealth in bad times.
She . . . sacrificed her honor by allowing Tom Spooner to lay hands upon her to save the lives of her family, friends, and the village.
And she never complained. She had the spirit of a wild mustang and the heart of a mountain lion.
She could go to America, to Texas or New Mexico, and live a good life, a much easier life, but she would never leave her father and brothers as long as men like Tom Spooner threatened the very existence of the village.
Jose had never seen his daughter in love before. Women wore their love like the bloom of a rose for all to see, if you knew enough to look. He saw that bloom on her face whenever she was in the company of the marshal.
The marshal would leave when his job was done and . . .
Four riders suddenly passed the cornfield. They couldn’t see the cart for the high cornstalks a hundred yards deep. Jose opened his pocket watch and checked the time. It was just a few minutes past nine. The riders were in no hurry, as the marshal had predicted.
Jose waited in the cart for s
even and one half minutes. When he climbed down, he could no longer see the four riders. He went to the circle of stones he and his sons built yesterday. He dug out a match, struck it against the stone, and set fire to the hay inside the circle.
As the hay caught fire, Jose made the sign of the cross and then returned to his cart.
Posey was sipping coffee when he spotted the faint smoke rising in the sky far in the distance. He looked at his watch on the ledge. Twelve minutes past nine.
Joseph was talking to some people at the mill.
“Joseph, get everybody into the church,” Posey yelled. “Now!”
Joseph looked up at Posey.
“Now, Joseph,” Posey hollered.
Joseph started speaking in Spanish and directing people into the church. Within minutes, the streets of the village were deserted.
Posey watched the distance, and four dots appeared on the horizon. He didn’t need binoculars to know they were four of Spooner’s men advancing toward the village. He looked at the watch again. They would arrive inside of the next seven or eight minutes.
Posey lifted the Winchester off the wall and cocked the lever.
The dots became horses and riders as they grew closer. Holding the Winchester, Posey sat with his back against the wall of the roof so they wouldn’t see him from a distance.
Pilar appeared on the opposite side of the roof as she came up the ladder.
“What the hell are you doing?” Posey said. “I told you to go into the church.”
“I know what you told me,” Pilar said. “I decided not to listen.”
“Get over here,” Posey said.
Pilar raced across the roof, sat next to Posey, and smiled at him.
“Good view,” she said.
“Never mind the view and keep your head down,” Posey said.
The horses galloped into the village square.
There were a few moments of silence and then a rider said, “Hey, where the hell is everybody?”
Posey turned and looked down at the four riders. He held the Winchester in his arms at the ready.
“United States Marshal,” Posey yelled. “I will give you one chance to surrender.”
The four riders looked up at him.
Three were hardened-looking men and obvious outlaws. The fourth was a boy, probably not yet eighteen.
“Surrender to who and for what?” one of the men said. “This is Mexico, and your badge ain’t worth shit down here.”
Posey shot the man in the chest and as he fell off his horse, the other two men reached for their sidearms. Posey cocked the lever of the Winchester and shot both of them. The boy sat on his horse and didn’t move except to keep the horse under control.
“Live to be a man or die as a youth. Which will it be, son?” Posey yelled down.
The young rider slowly drew his handgun and tossed it away.
“Step down off that horse and walk to that fountain. Give me your back and don’t move until I tell you to,” Posey said.
The young rider did as instructed.
“Can you cover him with this rifle?” Posey asked Pilar.
Pilar looked at the Winchester.
“Yes.”
Posey gave the Winchester to Pilar and said, “Just aim it in his general direction. If he moves, shoot the ground and he’ll stop.”
Posey went to the ladder and climbed down. As he came around to the front of the church, two men were still alive on the ground. He pulled the Colt and ended their lives with shots to the chest.
He holstered the Colt and walked to the fountain.
“Turn around, boy,” Posey said.
The young rider turned and Posey looked at his face.
“How old are you, boy?” Posey asked.
“Fourteen.”
“What the hell are you keeping company with this scum for?” Posey asked.
“No choice.”
“What do you mean no choice?”
“My uncle forces me to ride with him.”
“Who is your uncle?”
“Pepper Broussard.”
“Well, shit,” Posey said.
Pilar was suddenly beside Posey. “Do you want me to shoot him?” she said.
“What? No. Give me that,” Posey said and snatched the rifle from Pilar.
The church doors opened and the square was suddenly filled with people.
“What’s your name?” Posey asked.
“Evan. Evan Broussard.”
“Let’s go have us a talk,” Posey said. “Evan Broussard.”
Posey, Evan, and Pilar sat at a table inside the cantina. Evan ate a huge plate of eggs, beans, and rice with tortillas.
Posey and Pilar had coffee.
“My folks died when I was twelve,” Evan said. “My uncle Pepper took me out of school, and I been riding with him since.”
“You understand that your uncle is a wanted man, a thief and a murderer?” Posey said. “And will most likely end up on the wrong end of a rope.”
“He’s the only kin I have left,” Evan said.
“He’ll put you in the ground before you’re eighteen,” Posey said. “Is that what you want?”
“No, sir, I don’t,” Evan said. “But what am I supposed to do? If I run away, my uncle will just find me and beat me or worse. Sometimes I think my uncle is crazy.”
Pilar looked at Posey. “You can’t put this boy in jail. He is just a child.”
Posey took a sip from his cup and set it down. “You have no folks anywhere else?” he asked Evan.
“No, sir. I wish I did,” Evan said.
“How did your folks die?” Posey asked.
“My uncle rode in to our house a couple of years ago and wanted to hide from the law,” Even said. “My pa said no. My uncle killed him and my ma and then took me with him. Right after that, he hooked up with the outlaw Tom Spooner.”
“Your uncle killed your parents?” Pilar asked.
“Yes, ma’am. Shot them both right there in the living room of the house,” Evan said. “He set fire to the house before we rode out.”
Pilar looked at Posey.
Posey said, “Why did you and the others ride to Nuevo?”
“Tom Spooner wanted to find out what happened to the other four,” Evan said.
“Is he planning a job near the border?” Posey said.
“Near as I can figure,” Evan said. “I heard him and my uncle talking. They said they could hide out in Nuevo for a few weeks before making their way back to the hideout. By then the law would be looking in the wrong place.”
“Do you know what the job is they’re planning?” Posey said.
“I didn’t hear that part,” Evan said. “But I know it’s going to be soon.”
“How many men do Spooner and your uncle have?” Posey asked.
“Twelve,” Evan said. “Well, I guess five now if I do my math right.”
“Five plus them. Is that enough to do the job they planned?” Posey asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know where the hideout is located?” Posey asked.
“Am I going to jail?” Evan said.
“I’ll make a deal with you, Evan,” Posey said. “You tell me where the hideout is and you won’t go to jail. I’ll have the US marshals give you a pardon.”
Evan stared at Posey for a moment.
“What’s a pardon?” Evan asked.
“Forgiveness.”
“I guess if you wanted to, you could have just killed me with the others back there,” Evan said.
“I could have,” Posey said.
“Wyoming,” Evan said. “In the Bighorn Mountains.”
“Those mountains are a big place, Evan. A man could wander around for years in those mountains. Do you know exactly where the hideout is?”
“I can show you on a map,” Evan said.
“I don’t have a map,” Posey said. “I’ll get one when I take you to Laredo.”
“Why’re you taking me to Laredo?” Evan aske
d.
“Because you’re in Mexico, boy,” Posey said.
Evan nodded.
“You stay put,” Posey said. “If I have to chase you, our deal is off. Understand?”
“No problem, Marshal,” Evan said. “Can I get some more of these eggs?”
Posey and Pilar met Joseph at the fountain.
“What should we do with the dead men and their horses?” Joseph asked.
“Take their handguns and rifles and lock them in the church for now,” Posey said. “Keep any money they have on them, cart them out of town, and have them buried.”
“The horses?” Joseph asked.
Posey turned to Pilar. “Can we stash them at your farm for the time being?”
“Yes.”
“Joseph, have a few men sit on that kid until I return,” he said. “Pilar, can you ride a horse?”
Riding his horse with two horses in tow, Posey looked at Pilar, who rode Evan’s horse and towed the fourth.
“Your father did an excellent job this morning,” he said.
“My father hates Spooner as much as I do,” Pilar said.
They rode to the corral and Pilar dismounted near the cart. She opened the corral gate and Posey led the horses inside and then dismounted. The two mules paid the horses no mind as they grazed on hay.
Jose was on the porch when Pilar and Posey went to the house.
“Four horses means four more dead men?” Joseph asked.
“Three dead men, Papa,” Pilar said. “One was just a boy Charlie’s age. He is being guarded by Joseph and some others.”
“A boy? I don’t understand,” Jose said.
“It’s a long story, Papa,” Pilar said.
“I have to get back to town,” Posey said.
“Will you come to supper tonight?” Jose asked.
“I think I need to stay close to the village, but thank you,” Posey said.
Posey returned to the corral and opened the gate. Pilar followed him and closed the gate when he rode his horse out.
“Do you think more men will come?” Pilar asked.
“I’m not sure,” Posey said.
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