by Bill Sheehy
Outside on the street, he stopped and looked around. Time to see about a room at the hotel. Seeing the three men sitting out front he smiled. He’d learned early in his deputy career that every town had its old men sitting in the sunshine. And if anybody knew everything about everybody, it’d be those old men.
‘Afternoon, gentlemen,’ he said, leaning against an upright. ‘Keeping an eye on things?’
Nobody said anything while three pairs of eyes studied the newcomer. It was left up to Collins to open the ball. ‘Yep. It’s like I figured it when you come down outa that stagecoach yesterday. I was sure you was some kind of lawman.’
Harry couldn’t let that pass. ‘Now wait a minute, Clyde. As I recall, it was the other fella you were calling the law. Or possibly a businessman. Amos, here, will back me up on that. You were so busy ogling the woman you didn’t even see this gent.’
The third man nodded. ‘Uh huh. Gotta agree with old Harry here.’ Glancing up at Stewart, he pursed his lips and nodded again. ‘But this time I’d say he’s right. What kind of lawman are ya?’
Stewart chuckled. ‘Deputy Marshal Nathan Stewart’s my name. And you’re right about the other man. He’s a big city lawyer. Has an office up in Kansas City.’
‘And he’s been talking with the bank manager,’ said Clyde, hoping to get some first hand gossip. ‘Took her to lunch too.’
‘Right again,’ said Stewart. ‘Had lunch with the lawyer and then walked out with another man. Her brother, I reckon.’
Clyde grunted. ‘Yup, they’s twins. Martin and Marcy Baynes. It was their pa what named this little town. Own the Circle B ranch and the bank, over yonder.’ Realizing he’d said more than he should, he stopped and waited.
The deputy could play the game. Get a little and give a little. ‘Hm,’ he said, ‘well, that makes some kind of sense. I hear the lawyer is representing a Kansas City insurance company. Seems there was a train robbery and some of the stolen money was coming to your bank.’
The three men were silent, digesting the news. ‘Wal,’ said Clyde after a bit, ‘I don’t figure it’ll make a lota difference. This here ain’t a real busy town, so there ain’t much need for the bank to have a pile of cash money in their big old iron safe.’
Amos snorted. ‘It’s darn certain none of what cash money they got over there is any of yours. I never did see you going in there.’
‘Now, Amos, you’re just talking to hear yourself talk. Ya don’t know nothing. I got me a little bit set back. Enough to pay my bill over at the saloon, least ways. Now as I recall, you’ve been known to pick up a broom and swamp out the place at times to settle up yore drinking account.’
Stewart laughed. ‘Gentlemen, I don’t have much interest in your arguments. Guess I’ll go in and see if I can get a room and a soft bed. Good day, gentlemen.’
The three watch as the young man walked away.
‘Wal,’ said Clyde after a long moment, ‘for sure there’ll be an empty room or two, or even three. Not many people coming into town and renting a bed.’
‘You always got an answer don’t ya,’ said Amos quietly. ‘Wal, I do hope nothing happens that’ll cause that young man to show the barrel of his hand gun. But I do wonder what he’s in town for. Certainly hope we ain’t got some of that excitement comin’.’
Harry had been quiet for a long time. ‘I still say, I reckon if there’s any excitement coming our way, it’ll be from that other man, the big city lawyer. Him and his cross-draw belt gun. I don’t like the look of him at all. No sir, that’s trouble wearing a derby hat.’
Chapter 21
The room Stewart was directed to was upstairs and at the back of the building. Talking to the clerk he learned that Drazen had a bigger room down the hall at the front. There were two other rooms in between. Sitting on the bed with the door open, the deputy could look down the hallway and see the lawyer’s door. Well, he guessed he wouldn’t be missing out on keeping an eye on the man.
Laying back he pulled his wide-brimmed floppy hat down over his eyes and dozed off. In a while, he decided, he’d go back over to Miz Cornwall’s place and bundle up his belongings. Probably see if he couldn’t take his meals there, too. Eating fancy in the hotel restaurant could get expensive. He’d take care of that in a while. Now it was time to let his lunch settle.
Over at the saloon Tony Rodriquez had a beer with hired hands before the bunch rode out of town. While the men stopped at the bunkhouse Tony rode on over to the main house to talk with Mr Allen. After being on the trail for so long, most all the crew were thinking of washing their travel-dirty clothes and taking a bath in the creek back of the barn.
‘So,’ said Tony’s mother, Olivia, greeting him with a big hug and her ever-present smile, ‘you finally decide to come back to your home and see your mama?’
‘And hungry as a calf squalling for a teat,’ he laughed. ‘What might be available for your hard-working travel-weary favorite son?’
‘No. Not until you bathe, change your clothes and talk to Mr Allen about the trip. I know he’s been some worried. Now, mi hijo, why would that be?’
No reason I know of. The drive to the railhead went well and I put some money in the ranch account. But OK, it’s a dip in the creek and some talk, then food!’
Later, wearing a clean shirt for the first time in days and having combed his hair back, Tony smiled at his mother as he walked through the kitchen and on through the front living room to the side porch. When George Allen had built the ranch’s main house he’d wanted comfort. All the buildings, barns, bunkhouse and outhouses had been constructed of peeled logs brought down from the high country to the north. Unheard of at the time, he’d even had pane-glass windows shipped out from Kansas City.
Mr Allen had watched as Tony and the hands had ridden into the place, stripping off their gear and turning their road-weary mounts into the south pasture before heading for the bunkhouse. Sitting in a large rocking chair on a side porch, he smiled at the smoothness of how the outfit was being run. Yes, the boy, as he called Tony in his mind, was the best part of the ranch. Maybe he’d been wrong in some things but coming against his upbringing there hadn’t been anything he could do but what he’d done.
‘Mr Allen,’ said Tony coming out onto the porch, ‘we’re back and there’s money in the bank.’
Allen nodded. ‘Uh huh. I was watching y’all ride in. The boys don’t look like they been over worked. I reckon everything went well?’
‘Yep, sure did. Nearly every head we started out with got to the yards. Lost a couple head in a river crossing, but that wasn’t as bad as I’ve seen it. We’ve got a good bunch of hands and they all know what they’re doing. The price we got wasn’t as good as I’d liked, there were only a couple buyers and all they could talk about was how early in the season it is. The market up north has been shot to hell, from what they said, with cattle still coming up outa Texas. All in all, though, I’m not too disappointed.’
Tony’s mother came out to tell the men she’d put the meal on the table.
‘Well, Tony,’ said Allen, smiling at the woman, ‘let’s go see what this good woman has been cooking up. You can tell me all about the drive while we eat. I’m real interested in hearing about how you and the Baynes boy got along.’
Chapter 22
What Elizabeth heard at breakfast nearly made her panic; the man riding the stage with her was a deputy marshal. She hadn’t paid much attention to him; her focus had been on the lawyer. Oh, she had looked him over, what woman wouldn’t? His thick black hair hanging just over his ears framed his slender face, making him attractive. The long mustaches he wore almost hid his mouth, however, something she wasn’t sure she liked.
But she’d been busy studying the lawyer, hoping he wouldn’t notice her doing so. The other, the lawman, she hadn’t paid that much attention to. Except when she fell asleep and woke up finding herself leaning against his shoulder.
Picking at the food on her plate she thought about it. Was it a coincidence?
Or was he following Drazen too? Now she had more to worry about. After looking her over when she stepped into the coach Drazen had mostly ignored her. It was rare that men didn’t smile at her or try to engage her in conversation. Since reaching womanhood she’d been aware of the attention men paid her. That had been one of the things she loved about Roy; he was attentive but always so gentle and well mannered. Obviously Drazen had other things on his mind. Could it possibly be the outlaw, Morgan Runkle?
The other man hadn’t paid any attention to her either. The deputy. Could he also be interested in the lawyer? She’d have to be very careful.
After helping the landlady clear the table of breakfast dishes, something she did as a matter of course and also to give herself something to do, she decided to take a walk and look the town over. It was important she find Drazen and figure out a way to keep an eye on him. If he was in town to meet with the outlaw, she’d have to be near when it happened.
Walking along the main street from one end to the other didn’t take long. There weren’t that many stores or buildings on either side. Standing on the bridge over the thin running creek she looked down the street. Another problem was money. To really be able to watch Drazen, she’d do better by staying in the hotel. But she couldn’t afford that. Not for long. Actually as inexpensive as Mrs Cornwall’s boarding house was, she couldn’t stay there very long either.
Strolling back past the hotel, she nodded at the old men sitting in the shade of the porch. Mentally counting the money in her string purse, she worried. If that man Runkle didn’t show up she didn’t know what she’d do.
It was in front of the bank that the idea of looking for work hit her. If she could find a job, then she could stay as long as it took for her to find the outlaw. The bank or the general store were the most likely; there didn’t appear to be much else. Working in the saloon wasn’t something she could do. She knew about women who worked in such places. Squaring her shoulders, she opened the bank’s door and stepped in.
Chapter 23
Earlier that morning Jackson Drazen had watched from his hotel window on Main Street as Marcy Baynes unlocked the bank door and step inside. A few minutes later, the clerk, Ivor, went in and raised the blinds; the bank was open for business.
Wearing brown canvas pants, popular with miners, a striped ‘hickory’ shirt and a well-worn wide-brimmed Stetson, even the old men sitting on the hotel veranda had to look twice to decide who the man coming out of the hotel was. It was the cross-draw holstered Colt that decided them.
Uncomfortable in his cowboy boots Drazen, walked down to the livery. A few minutes later he rode one the stable’s big-boned roans north out of town. As usual he didn’t glance right or left at any time.
Amos, Harry and Clyde weren’t the only one watching the lawyer. Deputy Nate Stewart was making sure he didn’t lose sight of the man. After Drazen rode out of sight, the lawman rushed out the hotel’s back door and down the alley to the livery. Renting a saddle horse he again kept to the back streets, crossing the creek well below the bridge. There was no reason, he figured, to let anyone know of his business. Word might somehow get back to Drazen.
Dropping back far enough and keeping mostly off to one side of the rutted road Stewart rode loose in the saddle. Hanging around town wasn’t to his liking. The horse he was riding wasn’t anything to brag about, but being on horseback was enough to make him smile. In the saddle and following a suspect. That was when he was the happiest. He wasn’t sure what crime Drazen was suspected of committing, but the marshal had given him his orders. That was good enough.
It had been easy for Drazen to learn how to get to the Baynes spread, the hotel clerk liked to brag up the fact that the Circle B was a huge ranch. With Marcy Baynes in town, he hoped he’d have a chance to have a talk with Martin. That was not to be. According to the directions, the road on this side of the creek was the Circle B; on the other was the road to the Frying Pan. He had no interest in the other ranch.
The countryside was rolling grasslands. Coming to the top of one hill, Drazen was in time to see a rider coming down the ranch road. It had to be Martin Baynes. Maybe, he thought, this would be a good time to talk with Baynes.
Stewart saw the other rider about the same time. Not wanting to be caught he reined over behind a clump of saplings. Standing tall in the saddle, he watched as the lawyer pushed his mount down the hill, hailing the other rider.
Drazen almost laughed when he saw Martin’s reaction to his call. Reining his horse back, the rancher had jerked his six-gun.
‘Hey, no reason for that,’ called the lawyer, holding both hands up while riding up to Martin. The rancher, recognizing the man, frowned but reholstered his weapon. Now what the hell would Drazen be doing, coming out here? he thought. Then it came to him; he was bringing his share of the train money. Smiling again Martin, waved to the other man.
‘Well, Jackson, I wondered when you’d be showing up.’
The two men stopped, sitting side by side as their horses chomped at grass growing along the rutted road.
‘Yes, I didn’t want to make it too obvious.’
‘So, is this the reason for your coming out to Baynes Springs? When I saw you, I figured you’d come out to bring my share of the train money. I never did hear what amount the gang took. All I know is the federal money had been stolen. That really upset Marcy, you know. She was counting on it coming into the bank.’
Drazen shook his head, enjoying the moment. ‘No, afraid that didn’t happen. Oh, I mean Runkle and his boys got away with the sack full of bank notes, but there wasn’t any money to split up.’
Chapter 24
He liked the look on the rancher’s face. But he had to be careful. ‘At least not yet,’ added Drazen quickly.
‘What do you mean? Runkle’s had enough time to pay off his gang. Our share should have been waiting for you. I was sure that was the reason for your trip.’ Suddenly turning his horse so his gunhand was directly opposite the other man, he frowned. ‘You wouldn’t be thinking of cutting me out, would you? That wouldn’t be what you’re here to do, would it?’
Martin was ready. He knew how fast Drazen could draw his shoulder-holstered pocket pistol, but he thought he was faster.
Drazen carefully put both hands on his saddle horn.
‘Now, Martin, don’t do anything foolish. Yes, Runkle has had sufficient time to pay everybody off and we should have our money. But there’s been a hitch. You know that little knot-head, Little Carly? For a long time Runkle’s been keeping him around. I warned him not to trust the little fool, but, I don’t know, Runkle treated him almost like his son. Well, it’s true, the little fool was pretty good at doing what he was told but this time he screwed up. One of the territorial marshal’s men caught Carly. When Carly was brought in, they found one of the brown-back notes from the federal bank in his pocket. So the pressure has been on the other gang members. Carly isn’t talking but Runkle and his men are sitting very quiet.’
‘How does that stop him from handing over the money. That’s our money. It was our plan and our cut was to have half. What’s he trying to pull?’
Drazen relaxed. ‘I don’t think he’s pulling anything. Just being darn cautious. And let’s be straight about this deal. It was my plan. Not ours. As I remember, you came to me with the information about the bank shipment. I brought Runkle in and laid out the whole thing. Yes, he’s someone to watch. But right now, with the marshal’s office so close, is not the time to get nervous. You do know, don’t you, that one of the marshal’s deputies has been in town? I think he’s watching. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s interested in the bank too, which means you and your sister.’
Martin slowly shook his head. ‘No, I wasn’t aware of that.’ Thinking about it, he looked away. ‘But that reminds me. Marcy doesn’t know anything about this. She’s waiting for the Kansas City bank to make another shipment. Well, that might happen. That’s why she’s been so nice to you. I don’t like that at all. I’m telling you no
w, Jack Drazen, stay away from my sister. I know you. There’s not much that men like Runkle or you, for that matter, wouldn’t do with someone innocent of big city ways. I’m telling you straight out, stay away from her. Until Runkle shares out that cash money, ain’t much we can do but wait. But I’m warning you, don’t go getting frisky.’
Patting the cedar gun butt of his holstered Colt, he let his hand rest on it. Drazen’s smile wasn’t big and it didn’t reach his eyes. He knew he could out draw the fool, but the timing was off for that to happen. Having the money the Circle B and the bank must have was one thing, but maybe there was even something better here.
‘Hey,’ he said, holding his hands up, ‘don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen. You and your sister have only to wait and not get in a hurry.’
Stewart shook his head. He’d have given anything to been able to overhear the two men. He watched as the two men parted. Baynes, he saw, heading on toward the creek while Drazen came back on the main road.
Martin, crossing the creek, was not happy. For an instant, when he saw Drazen he thought he wouldn’t have to go asking for money. But nothing had changed; he’d still have to go over to the Frying Pan. Drazen, watching him ride toward the creek crossing, smiled. Yes, he thought, there were other opportunities here. This trip to Baynes Springs may turn out to be exactly what he’d been looking for. His smile grew even bigger when he thought of Marcy Baynes. Uh huh, his future plans would definitely have to include Miss Marcy Baynes.
