by J. T. Edson
With the supposed offer of the stolen jewelry for sale having been accepted, the robbery having taken place although the identity of the outlaws responsible was still not know, the lady outlaw had travelled to the town she designated as rendezvous with Icke. To establish the character she would be playing, she had booked by telegraph a room at the Railroad House Hotel in the name, ‘Darlene-Mae Abernathy’. She had arrived complete with a blonde wig, suitable clothing and baggage, letting it be believed she had come accompanied by her maid to attend to a business matter for her very wealthy family in Richmond, Virginia. This had allowed her to appear, as the occasion demanded, in two different guises inside and out of the hotel. xix
The intervening period had been spent by Belle in making the contacts necessary for whichever deception she finally selected. Being the most complex, those involving the National Trust Bank had demanded most of her attention. In fact, having satisfied herself it offered what she needed, she had intended to make use of it in another direction if Icke did not play the part she planned for him. Her shrewd assessment had helped her select which of the tellers would best suit her purpose. Telling Cyrus B. Cockburn that she was instructed by her family to look over various properties in the vicinity with a view to purchase, she had persuaded him to let Dennis Hobert accompany her to inspect such prospects as might prove of interest.
For obvious reasons, Belle had been compelled to adopt her less flattering appearance when visiting the railroad depot to keep watch for the man she was awaiting who was descending from a west-bound train. Being something of an authority where such matters were concerned, it had taken more than the removal of a beard and moustache, plus the addition of a few years, to prevent her from recognizing a hated face from the past.
The biggest surprise for the lady outlaw had come from learning that the murderer of her aunt and uncle was also the receiver she had enticed to Mulrooney. It was a discovery which had led her to change her motives and ultimate goal. She had been merely going to fleece him of the money which he had brought in response to her story and any other valuables he might have in his possession, by means calculated to cause him great humiliation when she sent news of it to his home territory. Instead, she had elected to inflict a much more severe penalty. However, in the earlier stages, she had not needed to revise her modus operandi on account of the proposed victim having proved to be Raymond ‘Land-Grabber’ Buckton, the erstwhile scourge of Oklahoma.
Having noticed the young Bostonian and his obvious interest in her quarry, although willing to admit it required the most experienced eye to detect the ‘hair’ and ‘beard’ he was wearing were false, Belle had first thought he might be a criminal with a similar desire for revenge against the receiver. Wanting to deal with ‘Mr. Wilson’ personally particularly after having realized his other alias and not wishing him to be frightened off by a bungled attempt on his life, or through discovering he had been followed from the east by an enemy, she had had Blue Duck and Sammy Crane help her keep Crayne under observation.
Handling the surveillance of the Bostonian at the time, the lady outlaw had followed ready to prevent him from using the revolver he was carrying to kill Icke. Seeing Stephen Forey and Lee Potter waiting in the almost deserted shipping pens district, aware that they were acting as bodyguards for the receiver, she had realized Crayne was being led into a trap. Contriving to pass around the rear of the buildings, unnoticed by any of the men, she had appeared in a position to prevent the Bostonian from falling into it. He had then remained in the care of her two companions. Dressed after the fashion of a cowhand from Texas, but taking care never to speak where they could hear him, he had on two occasions been close to Forey and Potter during their search for him and they had not suspected their quarry was so near.
Although Belle had been considering more than one scheme for achieving her original purpose, any of which would have served even in the new circumstances, she had finally elected to use the confidence trick involving the National Trust Bank. She had had another potential ‘mark’ in mind for it, in fact, but changed her objective when she discovered Icke had deposited the money in the vault. Ensuring he saw her in the company of the young man he knew to be a teller at that establishment, having concocted a satisfactory story to explain why their supposed relationship was not known if the matter should be raised, she had set the scheme into operation. She remembered how ‘Buckton’ had acquired a reputation for lecherous proclivities in Oklahoma. According to her information about Icke from sources in the East and from Crayne, these remained unchanged. Therefore, she had felt sure ‘Darlene-Mae Abernathy’ would be sufficiently attractive for him to be willing to exploit the situation where she was concerned, under the pretence of helping her ‘half-brother’.
With the other preparations made, and having ascertained that Hobert was ambitious, not over burdened with scruples or loyalty to his employer, the lady outlaw had had no difficulty in ensuring he would be absent from the bank at the appropriate time. At her instigation, he had sent a message claiming a sudden attack of grippe would prevent him from coming into work. He had then set off to inspect a property some fifteen miles from Mulrooney, having been led to believe the ‘Abernathy family’ were interested in it and that he would be a beneficiary, rather than the banker, should a successful deal for its purchase be concluded.
Knowing that Icke was staying close to the hotel, waiting to hear from the outlaws bringing the stolen jewelry, Belle had intended to call at his room to tell her story. However, seeing him coming into the reception lobby while on her way to his room, she had taken the opportunity to intercept him. The competence of her acting had achieved the desired effect and he had set off with the intention of retrieving the money he had deposited before it could be impounded. Being aware that the elderly teller had no liking for his younger and more forceful colleague, she had counted upon his annoyance over any work caused by the absence to produce an attitude suited to her needs when the receiver arrived. Although she did not know, her efforts had succeeded.
Having followed the scheme through to where it would have ended under her original plan, and leaving the hotel with all the valuable loot in her possession, the lady outlaw had set into motion the revisions required as a result of the changed circumstances. Learning of what had happened to Andrea Crayne had merely strengthened her resolve and made her all the more determined to put through the new portion of the plan.
Waiting outside at the time it had been estimated the effects of the drugged drink would wear off, Blue Duck had contacted Icke on his appearance in the lobby. His reaction to the story about ‘Gold-Brick Annie and Winnie O’Toole’ had been as was anticipated. Belle had guessed he would prefer to retrieve his property personally, rather than trust the task to his bodyguards or the man who had brought him the ‘information’. However, in case she had been wrong, he was led to assume neither bodyguard would be available that evening, and was quoted a higher price than he could afford for obtaining the services of Blue Duck. Knowing his publicly stated abhorrence of firearms, ownership was far from a true condition where he personally was concerned, she had felt sure he would have weapons available to be used in the attempt. She had also done something which, it was hoped, would help bring about the desired result.
Going to Forey and Potter, Sammy Crane had told them where the man they were seeking could be located and, if absent when they arrived, how he was likely to be dressed on his return. Shortly before their employer was brought to the shack by Blue Duck, they were inside with the intention of carrying out his orders by disposing of the young Bostonian.
Having avoided being seen by the receiver as he passed with his informant, the other conspirators had concluded he was taking very seriously what he had been told about the dangerous qualities of the ‘O’Toole sisters’. He had been wearing the woman’s cloak, deliberately left in the wardrobe by the lady outlaw, hoping it would enable him to reach the building in a less suspicious manner than with his masculine attire showing. Ho
wever, even if he had not adopted such a line of action, bursting in upon the waiting pair holding the whip it gun, it was unlikely he would have been given an opportunity to clarify the situation before they started shooting.
As it was, everything had gone as Belle wished!
A honest and upright young man had been saved from committing an act which even if he had not been caught, tried and hung would have ruined his life!
For her part, although she later had to dispose of the ‘hot’ money in a fashion she had not anticipated on acquiring it, the lady outlaw was adequately recompensed for the time and expense of the scheme. Having had the contents of the pocket book deciphered, she arranged for the withdrawal of the bank accounts kept by the receiver under assumed names. Furthermore, she had taken an appropriate revenge upon a man who had fully deserved what happened to him at her instigation.
Legal justice had been unable to touch David Icke, even in his previous identity of ‘Raymond “Land-Grabber” Buckton’, but retribution had come to him at the hands of Belle Starr.
Part Three – Birds of a Feather
Chapter Eighteen – I’ve Heard That One Before
Noticing that the cashier of the Crystal Room Cafe was looking pointedly in his direction, after having spoken with the couple who had earlier asked him to be their guest at what must have proved to be a most costly lunch, Hubert Charles Penfold the Third assumed the cashier was being informed that his host would settle the check on their return to the cafe. Nodding and giving a confirmatory wave with his pudgy right hand, he settled back on his chair in self-satisfied contentment. Taken all in all, he considered the events of the day were combining to make his visit to Fort Worth, Texas, more lucrative than he had originally envisaged.
Tallish, brown haired and in his late thirties, Penfold was bulky albeit in a soft fleshed fashion. His somewhat porcine features invariably bore an expression he considered to be masterful, but only made it appear he was smelling an unpleasant odor. Currently, his face was far from improved by having the skin peeled due to being exposed to a much stronger sun than that to which he was accustomed in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Although somber in color and devoid of everything he considered to be ‘frivolous adornments’, his clothing was cut from the best quality materials and in the latest Eastern style.
Imbued by wealthy and over indulgent parents with a sense of his own importance and superiority to those about him, Penfold nevertheless prided himself upon being a ‘stout and upright’ Christian. To ensure this sterling quality was not overlooked, having discovered there were many advantages to having people believe he possessed it, he never left anybody for long unaware of it and frequently found reasons for declaring his unswerving adherence to the doctrines of the Eastern Traditional Baptist Church. He had selected this particular sect because, while expanding its numbers, little enough was generally known about its particular beliefs for him to be caught out when he wished to use it advantageously.
Regardless of his numerous pronouncements, Penfold did not carry his boasted Christian precepts to any excessive length when dealing with others. As was being demonstrated by his activities that day, although ready and willing to produce something which sounded like a religious reason for his behavior, he was far from overburdened by scruples. After a lesser piece of luck a short while earlier, he considered he was now being offered a chance to turn a healthy profit his way.
On leaving his room at the Cattlemen’s Hotel, with the intention of asking at the reception desk on the ground floor whether any messages had arrived for him, Penfold had seen an expensive-looking wallet lying in the passage near the head of the stairs. Picking it up, he had ascertained that it contained twenty dollars in bills and what was, in all probability, the name and address of its owner. Hearing the door of a nearby room being opened, he had tucked the wallet into a pocket of his jacket and hurriedly set off downstairs instead of waiting to learn who was coming into the passage.
Being a firm advocate of ‘finders keepers, losers weepers’, although asserting in exculpation that the Good Lord disapproved of negligence with those gifts provided by His bounty, Penfold had no intention of trying to return the wallet to its rightful owner. Therefore, should it be the owner who was coming from the room, he had no desire to been seen and questioned on the subject. Should he have been asked if he had seen the wallet, he would have to admit this was the case. However, by his own standard, unless such an inquiry was made he would be at liberty to keep it.
Glancing over his shoulder on reaching the ground floor, Penfold satisfied himself that nobody was in sight. Nor was the lobby occupied, even the reception desk being unmanned, as he strode to the front entrance. Stepping outside, he watched a couple descending who he had noticed, without giving them any great attention, in the dinning-room the previous evening. They were as somberly dressed as himself. Not only did the man wear the ‘reversed’ collar of many denomination’s clergy, but his face was leathery and suggestive of a harsh religious fervor. Everything about the demeanor of the much younger woman implied that such was his nature. Although beautiful, there was little about her to arouse the ‘baser passions’. Her pallid features were marred by horn-rimmed spectacles and an expression of cowed, downtrodden meekness. Whatever curves her figure might possess were completely hidden beneath a shapeless black dress, and a plain poke bonnet concealed every vestige of her hair. Following upon the heels of her male companion, clutching a bulky black reticule as if afraid it would be snatched from her, her head hung forward and her whole bearing was redolent of subservience.
Satisfied it would be assumed he was just returning to the hotel, Penfold had entered and crossed to the desk. He arrived in time to hear the gaunt man asking whether there were any Eastern Traditional Baptists in Fort Worth. Although Penfold had for once no intention of admitting his connection with the creed, in case it resulted in a request for a donation to the church, the clerk had pointed him out. Despite his annoyance at having been identified, the anticipated suggestion of a subscription had not been made. Instead, much to his surprise, he had received an invitation to join the couple for a meal. Not at the hotel, either, but in the best and most expensive cafe offered by Fort Worth. However, having had much to do with members of his creed, he had suspected there would be more behind the offer than merely a desire for his company.
The supposition had proved correct!
While waiting in the comfortable foyer for a table to become vacant, the gaunt man had introduced himself as ‘Pastor Samuel Salford’ and, clearly as an afterthought, said the young woman was his daughter, Alice. Then he had explained that he was faced with a problem. In the throes of religious uplift and exaltation, a recent convert to their mutual creed had donated a desirable piece of property along the Trinity River to be sold for the funds of the church. There had been a stipulation. Considering nobody else would be sufficiently honest, the sale could only be handled by an Eastern Traditional Baptist. As it had been known Salford would be passing through Fort Worth on his way to Austin, he was delegated to make the negotiations. Unfortunately, due to a mix up in the arrangements, the matter could not be concluded until the following day and he must leave on the afternoon stagecoach if he was to bring to a desirable conclusion the most important business which was taking him to the State capitol.
Never willing to put himself out for others, unless seeing a way in which he might benefit personally from doing so, Penfold had listened without interest until hearing there were three potential purchasers involved. Furthermore, each had expressed an eagerness to buy, which was not unexpected considering the far from exorbitant price at which the land had been offered. This could have been raised considerably without deterring the intended buyers, the Pastor had asserted, even though the elders of the church had expressed concurrence with the figure quoted.
Concluding he could obtain the higher price by persuading the would be purchasers to bid against one another, then pocketing the difference without mentioning it to the elders, Pe
nfold hesitated to make an offer to take over the negotiations. He had met too many men like the Pastor and he felt sure such a suggestion would arouse suspicion and be refused. He wondered how he might bring about the proposal. The matter was taken from his hands by the young woman, making her first contribution to the conversation in a Southern drawl as meek and submissive as that of her father’s was harsh and domineering. She pointed out that their guest was also an Eastern Traditional Baptist and was qualified to make the sale.
However, Penfold considered the remark made by Alice a mixed blessing. The Pastor, being the kind of man he was, resented her intervention. Growling that they knew nothing about their guest, he refused to be mollified by his daughter claiming Mr. Penfold looked honest. Eager to be given the task, the young man produced his wallet and displayed fifteen hundred dollars. Conceding this was evidence of financial soundness, Salford suggested a test of his honesty. Producing a thick pocketbook from inside his black jacket, the Pastor presented it to Penfold with the instruction that it should be taken outside for a few minutes. Its safe return, Salford declared, would be sufficient to satisfy him upon this most important point.
Having no doubt that to refuse was almost certain to preclude him from further participation in the affair, Penfold concluded it would be advisable to humor his host and accepted the terms. While strolling around the cafe building, he examined the contents of the pocketbook. His hope of learning more about the negotiations over the property failed to materialize. It had held five hundred dollars and a letter informing Salford that a new church in the most wealthy part of Austin required an incumbent, but there was nothing about the sale of the property. Deciding he had at least discovered why his host was in such a hurry to reach the State capitol, he had returned and found the couple were already seated in the dining-room.
