The O'Malleys of Texas

by Dusty Richards

  Breakfast was ready before sunup. Harp noticed the girl was proving to be good help, but Ira said she still didn’t have her mind back.

  Harp noticed, too, that everyone kind of walked around him since he came back. Obviously Clower had made him fighting mad. Today he’d show him and any others who he was and they better stand clear or die.

  They rode in a long lope most of the way and reached the sight of the growing community on sweaty horses. At the edge of town, just in case, each man jerked out and carried a loaded Winchester across his lap. They all had Colt pistols to back their long guns.

  “Watch the roofs of buildings; they may be lying in wait for us. I don’t want to cause a fight. But I don’t aim to die here, either,” Harp told his men.

  He could see the depot building, which, he understood, the cattle buyers used as their office. Next he noticed four men step out of some batwing doors on a saloon porch and move into the street. No one that he knew.

  “I’ve seed the two on the right,” Sly said under his breath. “They be wanted in Texas. Them other two be kids who think they’re tough. It will be the two on the right give us dee most hell here, boss man.”

  “I agree,” Red said.

  Harp and his men never stopped walking their head-bobbing, hard-breathing horses toward this new threat spreading apart to face Harp and his force.

  “You fellows blocking the street or just resting?” Harp asked them as he and the others reined up.

  The second one from the right nodded. “What business you got past here?”

  “What if I said it was none of your business?”

  “Then I am making it my business, mister. Turn around and go back to herding your cattle. There won’t be any cattle sold here today.”

  “Wait a minute.” A big man in a suit stepped off the porch. He showed his badge. “I am U.S. Marshal Sam Ryder. Interfering in another man’s business isn’t allowed in any state or territory. I say you four step aside and let these gentlemen pass.”

  “What if I don’t?” their leader asked.

  “Then I will deputize those five men as U.S. deputy marshals and we will arrest you and the men with you as interfering with commerce.”

  “You’ve got some big damn words, mister.”

  “Sorry, sir, what is your name?” Ryder asked Harp.

  “Harper O’Malley of Kerrville, Texas, sir. Red Culver, my foreman. Harold Nelson, one of my hands, and Sly and Jimbo Trent, my point men.”

  “Nice to meet the five of you. Gentlemen, move aside,” Ryder said to the others.

  “I don’t believe—”

  Ryder had the leader by a fistful of his shirt and his six-gun jammed in his belly faster than a wasp could sting. “Now you’ve made me mad. You and your men are under arrest.”

  Four Winchesters were cocked beside Harp as he leaned forward on his horn. “Marshal, you need any help throwing them in jail.”

  “I don’t think so,” he said, holstering his gun and handcuffing the lead man.

  Ryder disarmed the others and handcuffed them into a chain of four.

  “Thanks for the aid and assistance, gentlemen. Good day to you. Now you four head up the street to the jail.”

  “Yes, thank you, Marshal. We have some business to do.”

  “You won’t ever bring one head of stock in here to load,” the leader promised him.

  “I want your name,” Harp said, reining beside him.

  “Huh?”

  “Tell him your names,” Ryder ordered.

  “Luke Kincaid.”

  Harp felt the muscles in his jaw tighten. “Kincaid, you’ve got mine and I’ve got a forty-five bullet with your name on it if you ever try to stop me.”

  A little later in the day, Harp met Joe McCoy who had convinced the railroad to lay siding tracks at Abilene to load cattle. He also met the men buying cattle. They had drawn cards to buy the first, second, and third herd, then it was business on their own. Cally Claxton, of Orica Packing Company, offered Harp ninety dollars a head for every good steer in herd one. Harp agreed and they shook hands on the deal.

  Oscar Roma, a swarthy Italian with a huge smile, bought the two thousand head of consigned cattle in the second herd, and Rex Laken of Laken and Grimes Packing Company bought the sisters’ herd.

  The secretaries scribbled down the parties’ names and the amounts. When both parties signed the documents, Joe McCoy shook Harp’s hand.

  “I heard about your sale at Sedalia and wondered if you would come up here this year. I am so glad you made it. You are a tough young man. We asked for some federal assistance and they sent one man, but he is a tough law man.”

  “Quite frankly, Mr. McCoy, that marshal saved some men their lives. We’d have left them dead in the street to get this done. My family and the sellers at home thank all of you. I had five months of hell getting up to Sedalia, but aside from a couple of Indians, who I fed, we had only small problems getting here.

  “But, back to the cattle. How many cars are here to load?” Harp asked.

  “We plan to load four hundred head a day.”

  “Give me two days and I can have the cattle here for that many cars.”

  “Hurrah,” went up from the room of buyers and their employees.

  A reporter followed them out, asking questions and scribbling at a hundred words a minute.

  “Sir, did you expect to be the first man to sell here.”

  “No, but I expected to sell those cattle here. In Missouri I was never sure if I’d live that long.”

  “What will you do now you have sold over six hundred thousand dollars’ worth of cattle here today?”

  “Go home and pay all the people who helped me get them together and get here. Excuse me, I have been so upset, I forgot to go and see about the mail.”

  Harold Nelson said, “Red’s gone to get it.”

  “He take two sacks?”

  “Ira gave him two large washed hundred-pound flour sacks to get it in.”

  “Can I buy you and these men a drink?” Joe McCoy interrupted, and asked him.

  “I don’t drink, sir. But thanks. We have a herd that needs to be moved closer, so we need to get to work.”

  “I think you have broken the strike. I hated that it happened, but these men, like you, have jobs and they can’t pay more than what they think will make money.”

  “Joe, I came here to sell my cattle at a fair price and get my butt back to Texas.”

  “I heard what Clower told you last night. You had every right to be mad, but thanks for carrying through. I have spent a fortune to get all this going. It had to work for me, too.”

  “I can imagine. As much as it cost to get cattle up to Sedalia, here a man could live for years on that sum.”

  Joe smiled. “But that quiet life wouldn’t be half as much fun as yours and mine are. Would it?”

  “You know I think you are right, sir.”

  Before he left town he wired his father and the Cranford sisters.

  WE ARE HERE STOP SOLD THEM NINETY DOLLARS A HEAD LOCK STOCK AND BARREL STOP THE O MALLEY BROTHERS HARP AND LONG

  They rode for the herd, and the news he was looking for he finally found in the fifth letter from Katy that he opened riding back.

  Congratulations. Your son, Lee O’Malley, was born July 2nd. Big boy, blond hair, and louder than you. Your mom says you looked like him. I had to name him Lee for our meeting place. Creek was not a good middle name so I left it off. Someday I’ll tell him that all this was caused by us eating peaches at Lee’s Creek. Hurry home.

  I miss you badly,

  Katy

  “Well, did someone die?” one of his fellow riders asked.

  “Hell, no. I have a son, Lee O’Malley, a big blond boy.”

  His team riding with him shouted and congratulated him.

  At camp Long danced a jig and everyone was excited. Harp told them about Marshal Ryder and his help. The cattle were sold, but all the men were to wear their guns, go in pairs, and to expect tr
ouble. It might not be over until they slid the last cattle car door shut.

  That night he dreamed that someone kept ringing a cash register that conveyed six hundred and thirty thousand dollars in the glass window, showing it to him like he was the customer.

  Long had a place picked out for them north of town, but they had trouble with the cattle. The animals had never seen ties or iron rails in their lifetime. Some would not cross the tracks, some jumped them, but finally all were driven across. Harp did have to ask the engineers not to toot any horns until they got the cattle farther away, because they spooked every time one went off.

  Ira had camp set up and the men were relaxing. There would be cars to load the next day, and everyone wanted this business to start. They knew they had to stay to load, but they’d have more help and the suspense was over—the O’Malley bothers had won another war.

  Harp wrote Katy giving her details to share with everyone. Under the night lamp he wrote and told her he could hardly wait to get home. And he’d see her and Lee this fall. He signed it, Amen, Harp O’Malley, your homesick husband.

  CHAPTER 27

  Harp never thought the whole situation would end by Ryder simply arresting four hired guns. But he wasn’t going to let anyone prohibit the sale of his cattle. Everyone had to make a living, and he wasn’t going to let anyone deprive him of settling the business he came to do in Abilene, and then going home as soon as he could to be with his wife.

  He became acquainted with the buyers, and he listened to their advice on how British-crossed cattle were the future for Texas cattlemen. The word was out that Durham-Shorthorns, Herefords, and other such breeds needed to be blended into the longhorn herds and those would, someday, be the way to get top prices for cattle.

  It put him to pondering on how these breeds would do in the more arid land of west Texas where the longhorn thrived, and if these other breeds could survive the droughts and climate. Time would tell.

  He knew the cattle of Texas had centuries to evolve, like deer in the brush country, after escaping their Spanish owners. But he listened and made notes for their own ranch’s future programs.

  There was still no real money back in Texas and the supply of common goods like coffee and cloth had not yet arrived on store shelves, according to his wife’s letters. Many ranchers had stopped her and his mother when on their way to town, or in the stores, asking if they could send cattle north with the O’Malley outfit next year? How were they doing? Was it going to work like they planned?

  He tried to answer those questions for her in his letters. They were surely going back next year. Despite the hardships of the drives, they were profitable.

  By the third week, they were loading Doug’s herd. Doug had his own stories to tell about a cowboy’s death while cleaning his pistol and another took pneumonia after a river crossing. Both had died and were buried on the trail. They were local boys and Harp would have to tell their folks about their loss and give the families the boys’ pay. He felt they were owed that. That would be a hard job.

  Ira took Candy to a doctor and told both Harp and Long about it that night.

  “Well, Doc Gripewater says she had some try-matic things happen to her and she lost her mind. Either they poisoned her or drugged her so much they damaged her brain and she probably won’t ever recover.”

  “That wasn’t the answer you wanted,” Harp said.

  “No, sir. That girl’s become a daughter to me, boss. The men all respect her and I wanted a cure for her so badly. I may try someone else at home. I am not leaving her here for the buzzards or the bastards that did that to her to get her back.”

  “You kind of wonder about some folks. Who would do that to another human being?” Harp asked.

  “Would your wife or your mom look after her, when I’m busy with you?”

  “Ira, I believe they would. I appreciate all you do for the crew and me. You feeding them and looking out for each man have made this the best cattle drive I could have hoped for. So we can thank you by having Katy and Mom look after her when you are not around. ”

  “I told you in Sedalia that you were a real leader of men, and I’ve said it on this trip. I’ve enjoyed my part in supporting you and Long. You two are the empire builders of Texas, and Candy’s recovery lies with you and the others that plunge on when the going gets tough.

  “And I still can’t believe that guy back in Texas told you those maverick cattle were not yours that we branded.”

  “Yeah, he’s one of those sore losers. Why Dad, Long, and I have branded cattle for years. Of course the three of us never got done what this outfit can do in a day, but we built a herd with dreams that someday there would be a market for them.”

  “You planning to do it again when we get home?”

  “As long as we can. These boys need work and so do you. The O’Malleys will be in the cattle business from here on, the good Lord willing.”

  “Kate called your son Lee?”

  “You recall Lee’s Creek flowed into the Arkansas north of Van Buren?”

  “Oh, yes. You shocked the hell out of us all bringing her back to camp. You sure were lucky. That was the best move of your life.”

  “Amen. Long is back. I need to talk to him some.”

  “Go ahead. Hopalong is helping me now that Doug is up here, so I have plenty of help.”

  “Those boys had some losses. I hate when things go wrong on any drive. Chaw is coming in here himself tonight. So we will hear about his trip then. Hopefully no losses.”

  Ira agreed, shook his hand, and said, “May God go with you my friend.”

  “Thanks.” Harp hurried to catch Long. “How’s Chaw?”

  “Mad as hell. I guess some of Clower’s bunch told him to stay where he was, that there was no place for his herd up here and that you’d send him word when you needed him.”

  “I never thought of that. We’ll get him up here. He lose many boys or cattle?”

  “One boy drowned. Had a few broken bones, usual things that happen on a roundup. I was thinking about the money. You have a way to transport that back to Texas?”

  “Yes. The buyers tell me there is a transfer company that is really respected called Wells Fargo. All the money will go into a special account in the San Antonio bank and this Wells Fargo will guarantee delivery.”

  “Never heard of them before but I bet I do from here on. Did you hear back from those old maids?”

  “I have a wire in my pocket that says they are very pleased and cannot wait to congratulate both of us.”

  “You think any more about what Katy said they’d eventually do?”

  “Not much, Long. I didn’t want to be disappointed if they do something else.”

  His brother laughed. “Well, hell, we’ll make it now. Get us some more new places huh?”

  “We can sure build them while the money is so short.”

  “What did Dad always say—strike that horseshoe while it was still hot?”

  “That was his statement. You have plans?”

  “If you can get this bunch home and not get in any trouble I think I’ll make a swing west on my own and look at a lot of country I’m just itching to see.”

  “Not take anyone along with you?”

  “I’ll be fine alone. I think I’ll enjoy the solitude of there being just me for a while. That’s the word isn’t it?”

  “One of our mother’s words, yes. You be damn careful, you may be half Indian but there’s lots of tribes on the warpath out there.”

  “I will be and I ain’t staying out there forever.”

  “You are my right-hand, brother. Remember that.”

  “Oh, I do and I appreciate your handling of this deal so well. I can’t even believe the money we’ve made here. Sedalia was great but this is wonderful.”

  “A dead brother in a prairie grave won’t help me, either.”

  “I will keep that in mind. I met that trader down on the Salt Fork, John Chisholm, and spoke to him. He’s sat in as a translator on
most all the government peace treaties they’ve had. Real nice fellow. You’d like him. He has an aura about him. Mom explained that to us.”

  “Kind of like a cloud to cover him, but a good one?” Harp asked.

  “Exactly.”

  “Well, the train cars are coming faster. Ten days we’ll be heading home. Most men I talked to want to go back and work for us down there.”

  Long nodded. “I won’t leave until things are all settled here.”

  “Good. I am sending a pay-off break down with the money in case neither of us make it back.”

  “Good idea. You tell me to be careful, but you be careful, too.”

  “I will. You can count on it.”

  Harp and Red rode back into Abilene that afternoon to check on things. They met Doug at the loading pens.

  “Things are going fine. All my cattle should be shipped in the next three days,” Doug said from behind the shaggy beard he grew coming up. “Then I can bathe, shave, and spend a token or two. The boys say he takes them and smiles. None of our men have been paid yet, but he knows you broke the strike and he said thanks again for you helping him.”

  “Any trouble over anything?”

  “Oh, there are some people pissed off about you selling at their price, and they knowing they will be coming behind Chaw’s herd makes them even madder.”

  Harp had heard all that, too. “I really don’t care.”

  “Me either. That’s a helluva price when longhorns aren’t worth a nickel in Texas.”

  “You explained to your men that wages going back to Texas go down to twenty bucks a month? Most outfits will pay their men off here and they’ll get no money to go home on. You and I need them at home and coming back next year, so we are paying them something.”

  “Wages go up when we get back?”

  “Right. We will have lots of work for them at home.”

  “The men will appreciate the pay going home and having a job in these times. Can I cull some horses that ain’t worth driving home?” Doug asked.