by Jack Martin
Cole went to him and bent and took the tin star from his shirt. The bullet had glanced it as it had entered the man’s chest and it was blood stained and buckled. But he took it nonetheless and placed it into his pocket.
‘I’ve removed you from office,’ he said and quickly vanished out of the back of the building when he heard the street start to fill with people drawn by the sound of that single gunshot.
Cole had no clear idea what he was going to do next, everything had happened so quickly and he was still dazed by the afternoon’s events. It all seemed unreal to him and he decided to retire to a safe distance while he figured his next move.
Chapter Five
Cole hugged the side of the building and watched Jessie’s place. It been some time since the shooting and so far nobody had connected him with the deed and come looking for him but he knew it was only a matter of time.
Jessie was awake.
Moments ago he had seen her come to her door and peer outside but she had quickly gone back inside and now lamplight flickered behind the heavy curtains. No doubt she would have made the connection with his disappearance and the commotion across the street but thankfully she had the good sense not to investigate. Preferring to sit tight until she learned exactly what had transpired. That gave him time before Bowden’s men would come seeking revenge for the shooting of one of their own.
He felt the butt of one of the Colts for reassurance and came out of concealment and slowly walked towards the small house he and Jessie planned to share after they married. His eyes constantly scanned the street but nobody seemed to notice him and he reached the house without incident.
He quickly went inside.
‘Cole,’ Jessie stood up and came to him, holding him to her.
‘I’m okay,’ he said and led her away from the window in case someone saw their shadows. ‘I’m going to have to vanish for awhile,’ he said. ‘Figure out what my next move will be.’
‘It was you?’ Jessie’s eyes were wide in terror. ‘The gunfire?’
Cole nodded.
‘Who?’
‘The new sheriff, Bowden’s foreman.’
‘They made him sheriff?’
‘Well he was wearing the badge.’ Cole was about to remove it from his pocket but then he remembered the bloodstains and thought better of it. ‘Seems to have been Bowden’s doing.’
‘Is he dead?’
‘Yep,’ Cole looked away from her eyes and breathed deeply. ‘It was either me or him.’
For a moment there was silence apart from the faint sounds of raised voices drifting over from the street. ‘So what are you going to do?’ Jessie asked presently.
‘I’m going to hide out somewhere,’ he said. ‘Meet the stage and tell the judge what’s happened here. And then I’m coming back for you.’
Her eyes started to fill with tears and she buried her face in his chest. ‘They’ll kill you.’ She had their wedding to look forward to but now a black cloud of hopelessness began to descend, strangling any dreams of a rosy future beneath its opaque and desolate shroud. All her plans and dreams had been turned upside down by these latest events.
‘They’ll kill you.’ Jessie said, meaning Bowden’s men.
‘If I give them the chance, yes.’ Cole said. ‘But they won’t get that chance and I swear Sam Bowden will face trial for what he’s done.’
‘They’ll come here looking for you.’
‘Yes.’ Cole nodded. He could see the worry clean in her face and he kissed her gently on the forehead. ‘But they won’t find me. They won’t do anything to you, not with the judge on the way. The death of a whore Bowden can cover up but you’re a schoolteacher. The old man won’t let his men touch you.’
It all made perfect sense but Jessie felt as if her entire life had suddenly moved way beyond her control. ‘I’m scared.’ She said.
‘Good,’ Cole said. ‘Fear will keep you careful.’ Again he looked around the room and then asked: What happened to my rifle?’
‘Bowden kept it.’
‘No matter,’ Cole said. He had his Colts. ‘Don’t worry if you don’t hear from me for a while. The stage’ll be through in four days and I’ll be on it.’
‘Be careful’ She said. They embraced and kissed, at first gently but then harder, passion and fear a heady cocktail, until Cole pulled away and went to the door.
‘I’ll be back for you.’ He repeated and then vanished into the night.
~*~
As soon as Charley Perry had discovered that the new sheriff, Steve McCraw was dead he had mounted up and set out for the Bowden ranch. He had worked out that Masters must have been responsible for the shooting and he knew that it was only a matter of time before everyone else figured it out too. Events like this could spark off a war and he felt he could turn that to his advantage.
Clem and Sam Bowden had returned to their ranch after the excitement with Masters this afternoon but many of their men had stayed behind in town. And given their drunken state they were apt to form a lynch mob and go after Masters just as soon as they made the patently obvious connection between him and the shooting. Which was not something Clem Bowden would want given that his son was facing trial for the mutilation and murder of a saloon girl. That was something that the old rancher would very much want to prevent.
Charley didn’t work for Bowden himself but he was sure that if he took the news to the old man then he would be suitably rewarded.
It was a clear night and he was able to keep his horse in a gallop for most of the journey and it was only for the last mile or so that he started to slow to a steady trot. His horse, although a magnificent creature, was tiring and Charley knew the importance of a good horse in these parts. It didn’t make any sense to exhaust the horse when he still had the ride back to town ahead of him.
Financial gain or not he was not going to lose his horse.
There was a guard on sentry at the ranch and as soon as Charley was close enough to read the Bowden name in big brass lettering on the gates, he saw the a man step out of the shadows and point a shotgun directly at his chest.
‘I need to speak to Clem Bowden.’ Charley said, his voice a little shaky. ‘I’m unarmed. I don’t carry a gun.’ He moved to open his coat but the man raised the deadly looking weapon further. Charley smiled and sat there, arms spread wide. The horse shifted uncomfortably and he had to whisper soothingly to calm the beast.
‘Do you know what time it is?’ The man with the shotgun asked.
‘Somewhere around midnight,’ Charley said. ‘But this is important. It’ s about the new sheriff.’
‘Steve?’
‘Yeah,’ Charley nodded. ‘He’s dead.’
The man with the shotgun staggered slightly. ‘How?’
‘Don’t rightly know.’ Charley began to feel a little easier now and he allowed his arms to drop so he could pat the horse upon the head. ‘I figured it must have been Masters.’
‘The old sheriff?’
‘The one and the same,’ Charley said. ‘Thought your boss might want to know straight away.’
The man lowered his rifle. ‘Steve dead, you say.’ The news seemed to have both shocked and saddened him and Charley wondered how close they had been. ‘Hitch your horse and follow me.’
Chapter Six
Once again Charley shook hands with Clem Bowden and smiled. The thought of the fifty crisp dollars in his shirt enticed him and he was eager to get off this property and back to town. The old man seemed equally so to be to be rid of him.
‘Remember anything I can do.’ Charley said as the gunman who had stopped him earlier led him back to his horse.
Clem Bowden watched them go and then shook his head.
He looked at the night sky and a single star in particular as he thought of his late wife and the son they between them had produced. He had lost a good man in Steve McCraw . If his own son had been more like his ranch foreman then maybe none of this would have happened.
If it was Masters who ha
d killed Steve, which seemed the most likely explanation then there was no telling where this could all go.
‘Damn you.’ He said, cursing his wife who had died and left him with this son he had never known how to handle.
Sam came out of the house. Only a moment ago he had been in his nightshirt but now he was fully dressed. He had his guns slung over his shoulder and he stood there besides his father while he strapped the holster on.
‘Where are you thinking of going?’ The old man asked. He hugged his coat around him against the cold. ‘I asked you a question.’ He said to prompt Sam who was simply staring at him, open-mouthed.
‘Into Squaw,’ Sam said as if it was plainly obvious. ‘I’m going to find Masters and make him pay for Steve.’
‘Inside.’ Clem said, noticing that several of his men had emerged from the bunkhouse now that the news had gotten about. They too would be eager to get after Masters and exact revenge for their departed foreman.
‘But—’ Sam stood there, mouth agape. He looked deep into his father’s eyes and knew there was no use arguing. When the old man made his mind up there was no altering it.
‘Inside.’ This time more firmly. The old man pushed his son back inside the house and closed the door. He stood on the step and then turned to face the men outside the bunkhouse. ‘I want two of you men to saddle up the horses and be ready to ride into Squaw with me. The rest of you go back to sleep.’
‘Is it true about Steve?’ Dan Oakley asked.
‘It’s true,’ Clem said, matter of factly and turned on his feet and went back into the house.
~*~
Jessie hadn’t slept all night and she had been relieved when the dawn triumphed over the darkness that seemed to cling on as if not wanting to relinquish the night to the day. Several times during the night she had heard sounds outside and had been convinced they had come looking for Cole but no one had and now she started to feel a little easier.
She wondered if the fact that no one had come yet meant that Cole had been captured in the night but she doubted that. Somehow she knew that wasn’t the case. It was as if there was some bond between them and she would know instantly if anything happened to him.
She dressed and washed in cold water out of a bowl and then sat there for some time, putting off leaving the house for as long as possible. With each second she expected someone to come calling but no one did. Until finally she could wait no longer and she left for the schoolhouse. She had to get on with life as normal, she told herself. If she and Cole were to survive this situation then she had to stick to the daily routine, the usual grind.
There were several of Bowden’s men stood outside the jailhouse and again she wondered if they had Cole inside but again that inner knowledge told her that was not the case. It made no sense, though. There had to be a reason why they had not made a move to find Cole.
Something was keeping them under control.
She gasped when she saw what that something was.
‘Lovely morning.’ Clem Bowden came out of the jailhouse and walked towards her.
Jessie nodded and willed herself to stay calm. Was Cole inside the jailhouse? Is that what old man Bowden was doing here?
‘We’re looking for that man of yours,’ Clem Bowden said. ‘Any idea where we might find him?
Jessie knew this moment had been coming and she had rehearsed it over and over in her head during the night but now that it came to it she felt herself falter. She looked away from the old man and took a deep breath. ‘I don’t know where he is?’ She said. ‘He left during the night.’ She was aware of how false her words sounded and she was fully expecting Clem to bluntly call her a liar.
‘He didn’t tell you where he was going?’ Clem asked.
‘I was asleep,’ she said, failing to make eye contact with the old man. ‘He left a note. Said he was leaving town after what had happened.’
‘Can I see the note?’
‘No,’ Jessie said and then with all the force she could muster she looked the old man directly in the eyes and said defiantly: ‘It’s private.’
Clem smiled but it was without humor and made the crows-feet on his eyes deepen giving him an almost demonic look. ‘I don’t believe you.’
‘I can’t help that.’ Jessie looked away with what she hoped appeared more like indignation than fear. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me.’ She pushed past him. She quickened her pace towards the schoolhouse.
‘Do you know Masters killed the sheriff?’ Clem Bowden shouted to her back.
Jessie ignored him.
‘That makes him an outlaw.’ Clem yelled louder but again Jessie made no reply. ‘An outlaw who’ll be hunted and gunned down like an animal.’
Jessie continued walking straight ahead, keeping her eyes trained directly in front of her. She mumbled a silent prayer beneath her breath, praying for the inner strength she needed to get her through this.
Clem spat in the street and turned and walked to the jailhouse, a plan fully fermented in his mind.
He knew what he must do and had perfected his plan through the night. The loss of Steve was regrettable but in gunning him down Cole Masters had put himself outside the law. He had gunned down a lawman and Clem knew that action had changed things considerably. He had been depending on his lawyers to get Sam off with the murder of the whore, something that wouldn’t have been too difficult, but all that had changed. Now it could be made to look as if Cole Masters had framed Sam for the whore killing, had actually done it himself, and then gunned down his replacement sheriff when his duplicity had been discovered. That was the hand Clem Bowden would play. All his life he had gambled but only when the odds favored him and he felt that fate had just dealt him a winning hand.
He stepped up onto the boardwalk and looked at his men.
‘Two of you,’ He ordered. ‘Ride out to the ranch and bring Sam to me. The rest stay close by. Relax but stay out of the saloon. I need you all clear headed.’
His men nodded and immediately set about carrying out his commands.
Clem stepped into the jailhouse and, feeling the need to be alone with his thoughts, closed the door.
Chapter Seven
Sam Bowden had spent the morning nervously pacing back and forth the large ranch house. He’d drunk what seemed like gallons of coffee and as a result he nerves were set on edge. He felt as restless as a rattler caught on a hot rock.
Every now and then he had gone outside and looked around, at the men carrying out the chores their respective jobs detailed but he had talked to no one and soon went back inside. It puzzled him to think what his father was doing in Squaw and he couldn’t rightly understand why the old man had forbid him to leave the ranch.
Sure he had the trial coming up but that was all a formality. There were no witnesses, no one would dare come forward and even say they had seen him with the girl. It made no sense him following the agreement to be confined to the ranch until the law cleared him. Not now that Masters had gone loco and gunned down Steve McCraw.
His father had been insistent though and Sam knew there was little point arguing with his father.
If the old man said night was day then the only course was to agree with him.
When he saw the two men, Josh Redford and Ted Dryer, ride in he ran from the house with such speed that he almost tripped himself on the stoop. There was no sign of his father, only the two riders, and they were not the same two who had rode out with the elder Bowden during the early hours.
‘Howdy,’ he shouted. ‘Where’s my pa?’
‘Still in town,’ the speaker was Josh Redford, a tall sinewy man who had proved himself an able worker in his five years at the ranch. ‘Sent us out to get you.’
‘Well that’s more like it.’ Sam said and ran a hand through his unruly hair. ‘I’ll get my horse and you two can tell me just what the hell’s going on in Squaw.’
The men on horseback exchanged a glance that Sam didn’t understand but he had not the time nor the inclination to ponder o
n it. This was more like it; he’d go loco sitting out here twiddling his thumbs, not knowing what was going on in town. It was far better to be where the action was.
~*~
Jessie was finding it hard to concentrate and she knew that she was losing the children’s attention. Hardly surprising given that the text in the book she was reading was making no sense to her, words came from her mouth in a jumble and she wasn’t taking in anything of what she read.
Several of the children were growing restless and were whispering amongst themselves, growing bolder when their misdemeanors went unnoticed by their teacher. Soon they were openly chattering while Jessie’s voice became a monotone, ignored and unheard, drifting on and on around the small classroom.
‘Children.’ Jessie said, firmly and put the book face down on her desk. She took up a piece of chalk and turned to the blackboard.
The children fell silent for only the briefest moment before they started whispering to each other. Jessie had to shout to bring them under control and the schoolteacher glared at the children. ‘One more disruption,’ she said. ‘And someone will be punished.’
‘There’s a man at the window.’ Tommy Cooper, a small boy with wire rimmed spectacles and a thick tuft of ginger hair that seemed to burst upwards of his head like the feather of some medieval knight.’ Yelled, excitedly. ‘He was looking at us.’
Jessie frowned. ‘Get on with your lessons,’ she said and went to the door. Her hand paused briefly on the handle and she steeled herself to deal with whatever Bowden had in mind for her now.
It wasn’t Bowden nor any of his men outside, but Em Tanner.
The old timer stood by the door, looking sheepish.
‘Wanted to see who you had in there.’ He said.
‘The children, of course.’ Jessie answered; relieved to see it was the old man and not one of Bowden’s thugs. ‘This is a school after all.’
‘It is that.’ The old man scratched his head and spat tobacco juice onto the ground. ‘You know where Cole is?’ He asked.
