With tears running down her face, Cindy ran to the window and looked into the street. She was dreading the sight, but she, too, was caught up in the need to know of what had happened.
The two pistoleros on this side of the street were yelling to Hermano, “Drag the sheriff out so we can see him!”
But Hermano wasn’t answering.
The townspeople were looking across the street at the place where the first gunman had disappeared. Raphe appeared in the street below Cindy’s window, and she watched him slink across the street and hide in a doorway.
Raphe yelled at the pistoleros, “There’s three of you and only one of him, so what are you waiting for? Go get him!”
The hired killers walked across the street cautiously. Their partner hadn’t come out, and they suspected something was wrong.
Their suspicions were right. They found Hermano lying in a pool of blood; and Alex was nowhere to be seen.
“Maybe we’ve underestimated this gringo,” the pistolero named Pedro said loudly to his buddy Garcia. “Hermano thought he killed him. We all saw him fall. He’s probably wounded, so while he’d wounded is the best time to find him. You go down that side of the street, and I’ll go down this one. If you see him, yell. If you get an open shot at him, kill him. But if you don’t, we’ll trap him between us, and the first one to shoot lead in him will get the bonus.”
Cindy and everyone else heard their plan.
The fact that the gunmen didn’t find Alex’s body gave Cindy hope. Alex was fast, and he was strong. Even though he still had two professional gunmen after him, he had a chance.
Cindy wondered if there was anything she could do to help Alex. Then she remembered that her father’s nickel-plated revolver was in the nightstand drawer. She had been foolish enough to allow Raphe to convince her that he still loved her, but in truth—he came back to kill Alex and take everything she had.
Well, Raphe was in for a surprise this time. She would help Alex, and Alex would chase Raphe back to old Mexico, where he belonged.
Cindy checked the revolver to make sure it was loaded, and then from her window looked up and down the street. It was dark, so she couldn’t see much, but she knew Alex was out there.
“Oh, Alex,” Cindy whispered to herself. “I’ll watch from this window, and if there’s anyone about to shoot you, I’ll try to shoot him first. After all, you taught me how to shoot. I may not hit the man I’m shooting at, but at least I’ll distract him and warn you. I love you, Alex.”
She didn’t know how her mother felt about Frank, but she doubted that Marian was foolish enough to allow him to get his hands on her property and leave her with nothing.
* * *
The splinters of wood sticking in Alex’s face weren’t serious, but they were annoying, and blood was marring his vision. he found a dark spot between two buildings right across from Cindy’s room and picked the splinters out of his face. he was lucky; none had entered his eyes.
Alex had also heard the verbal exchange between the pistoleros, and he planned to let them find him—one at a time. Gray Wolf and Soaring Eagle had taught him the art of silence and patience. he was in a dark place, dressed in dark clothes, and he made certain he had nothing shiny showing. Time was on his side, so he waited.
“Pedro,” Garcia hollered, “look between those buildings—he’s not on this street!”
“I don’t want to go in there alone. He may be wounded, but he may not. Why don’t you come in from the other side? If he’s in there, we’ll have him trapped.”
The stupid gunmen not only told Alex where they were, but what they were going to do. Alex couldn’t escape by running into the street. Pedro was too close, and he didn’t know if Garcia was near the entrance to the back alley. Alex was standing by the back door of the general store. he could break a window, but that would let his pursuers know where he was. he looked up and saw Cindy at the window. he knew that Raphe was out there somewhere, but Raphe was a coward and wouldn’t be out in the open. The fourth man to consider was Frank Fadden.
Alex saw Pedro enter the alley from Main Street. I could shoot Pedro, but where’s that other gunman? And where are the two jokers—Raphe and Frank?
Sliding back into a cranny that was used as a storage area, Alex was concealed by the darkness. If Pedro should see him and warn the other gunman, Alex chances were slim. He waited. Pedro was only a few feet away. Alex heard the other gunman enter the alley near the rear of the store, but he still didn’t know where Frank and Raphe were.
Luck smiled on him. Pedro made the mistake of sticking his head in the cranny. The only sound was the grunt Pedro made when Alex’s knife plunged into his heart. That grunt warned the other gunman, who started firing. Splintered wood flew everywhere. Again Alex dropped to the ground and waited.
Cindy heard the commotion but couldn’t tell who was doing the shooting. She didn’t know that Alex had already eliminated two of the pistoleros. Then she saw Raphe hiding with his back against the front wall of the general store waiting for Alex to show himself. Frank was standing directly below her window, not twenty feet away.
Garcia was moving stealthily up the alley.
“Hombre!” Alex yelled. “One of us is going to die in this alley. Do you want to die like a rat or would you rather die like a man?”
“You’re talking my language, Sheriff,” the lone surviving pistolero shouted back. “I came here to kill a sheriff who has a reputation of being good with a gun, but so far you’ve been nothing but a phantom who kills with a knife.”
“I wasn’t hunting the men I killed; they were hunting me.” Alex responded.
Knowing that neither Frank nor Raphe would face him, Alex felt safe talking to the paid gun. “Garcia, your compadres are dead. It’s just you and me. Are you man enough to face me in the street under the lights?”
“You’re making your first mistake, gringo. No man can beat me. I’ve killed many men who thought they were good.”
Alex stuck his hands out where the pistolero could see them.
“Can you see my hands?” he asked.
“I see them,” Garcia replied.
“Then you can see that they’re empty.” Stepping into the open where he could see Garcia, Alex said, “Let me see your hands.”
When Garcia stepped out into the open, the light revealed a hard face with thin, snarling lips, and eyes that scowled at the world through slits.
He’s a killer, all right, Alex thought.
Garcia laughed to himself. This is going to be easy. When I kill this amateur, I’ll have earned the full bonus, and I’ll go back to Mexico a rich man.
They walked into the lighted street. People were watching from every window.
“I’ll walk ten paces to my left,” Alex said. “Then I’ll turn to face you. After I’ve turned, draw when you’re ready. But remember, the whole town is watching.”
As he turned, he saw Garcia reach for his gun. Alex dropped to a crouch as he completed the turn and shot a hole right in the pistolero’s brow. Garcia had guessed wrong. Dead wrong.
Six shots were fired. Alex fired one; two shots from Garcia missed and went wild over Alex’s head; a shot came from Cindy’s window; and both Frank and Raphe’s shots missed Alex. Alex shot back at where he thought they were hiding. Seeing that the last pistolero was dead, Frank and Raphe got scared and scurried away. The sound of retreating hoof beats was heard by everyone in the town.
* * *
Alex looked up at the window where Cindy had been standing, but she was gone. He had to warn Kyle that Frank and Raphe would soon be there, and there was a good chance that they would lie in ambush for him.
Alex whistled for Midnight; Midnight came running, and Cindy came running also with her arms open, crying. She wrapped her arms around Alex. “I thought I had lost you,” she said in a wild, crazy stammer. “Oh, Alex, don’t you know that I love you?”
“I hoped you did, but I know where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing. Raphe is impo
rtant to you. Our mothers seem to have a need for the man who killed our fathers, so why should I believe you’re different?”
He grabbed Cindy’s shoulders and shook her. “Raphe and Frank came back from Mexico with hired guns to kill me. They’ll take everything you and I dreamed of when we were children. I’ve been lucky enough to eliminate their latest batch of killers, but they aren’t going to give up until Kyle and I are dead.”
He looked cautiously at Cindy. “Kyle and I can handle Frank and Raphe, but if we eliminate them, we’ll lose the women important to us. You women have to decide which of us you want—Kyle and I can’t decide for you. I’m going to the ranch to let Kyle know that Frank and Raphe might show up there.”
“I want to go with you, Alex,” Cindy said through muffled sobs, “but first I want to check on Mother. Raphe told me that Frank was with her, but I saw Frank waiting under my window. Raphe was behind you, waiting to shoot you in the back, so I shot at Raphe but missed.”
“Thank you. I was wondering who you shot at. Your shot probably saved my life. I understand your dilemma, but can you understand mine? If I defend myself—and in doing so, kill your lover—I’ll lose you. If I don’t defend myself, either Raphe or Frank will kill me. Kyle faces the same situation with Eva. Let’s check on Marian and then ride to the ranch, but we’d better be careful. Frank and Raphe may have gone to Marian’s house.”
Cindy and Alex reached the stables. As Alex was hooking Midnight to a buggy, he said to Cindy, “I know that, in nature, when two stallions fight over a mare, the mare mates with the survivor. Is that the way it is with women?”
Cindy understood the question, but she didn’t know the answer.
* * *
Alex took the reins and tied them to the rail in front of Marian’s house while Cindy ran in. Marian was in the living room in a rumpled housecoat. She had heard the shooting, but she didn’t pay that much attention. She was astonished when Cindy told her what had happened.
“Has Frank or Raphe come to the house in the last few minutes?” Cindy asked.
“No, Cindy. Frank left more than an hour ago. He took his rifle and pistol when he left. He didn’t say where he was going, but he told me that Raphe was with you. He didn’t have to tell me what you and Raphe were doing. Why did you come home?”
Marian’s comment angered Cindy, but she ignored it. “Alex and I are going to the Bar H. Alex wants to talk to Eva and Kyle.”
“May I go with you? I’d like to know where Frank went.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’ll ask Alex if you can come with us.”
Having Marian along would complicate the situation, but Alex understood why she wanted to go, so he consented. It should be interesting to hear Marian and Eva comparing notes about their indiscretions with Frank, and Kyle might be interested as well.
“I’ll get the buggy,” Alex said, “and I’ll raise the top. We’ll need the cover—it’s starting to rain.”
It wasn’t the rain that Alex was worried about; he wanted the cover to make it harder for Frank or Raphe to shoot him from ambush.
* * *
By the time they got to the ranch, it had stopped raining. The Bar H riders were waiting, and when they saw Alex, they stepped into the open.
“No telling what Frank will do,” Alex explained, “but one thing is certain—neither he nor Raphe will fight in the open.”
Kyle was relieved to see Alex but troubled to see Cindy and Marian.
“I’ve got to ask you the same question you asked me only a few weeks ago, Alex,” Kyle said. “Why have you brought these women with you? Surely you know where their sympathies lie.”
“I know who they’ve been with for the last few hours,” Alex remarked, “and I know what they’ve been doing, if that’s what you mean. But they’ve got to decide which of us they want to survive this fracas. Cindy has to decide between Raphe and me, and I would think that you would want to know who Eva would choose if it comes to a shoot-out between you and Frank. I brought Marian along so she and Eva can fight it out about who gets Frank.”
Still talking to Kyle but looking at Cindy, Alex said, “If any of them choose the wrong man, then I don’t know about you, Kyle, but I’m riding out of here. And if either Frank or Raphe comes after me, I’ll kill them without hesitation, and I don’t give a damn who likes it.”
“Kyle,” Alex muttered, “I’d sure like to listen to them quarrel. Maybe we could get some idea who they’ll choose.”
“I know a place upstairs where we can hear everything they’re saying,” Kyle answered.
* * *
Before Alex and Kyle could get upstairs, Marian and Eva were already going at it.
“Why were you in bed with Frank?” Eva asked. “You know he murdered Marl. Cindy saw him do it.”
“I was in bed with Frank for the same reason Cindy was in bed with Raphe, and for the same reason you kept sleeping with Frank after he killed Vard—and don’t tell me you didn’t know. You had to know. You think Frank will choose you over me, don’t you? Well, I doubt it. He chose me first, and you know it. You saw him with me, and you were jealous.”
Marian continued as she shook her finger at Eva. “You got him the same way you get all of your men. You just wiggle your ass and drop your drawers. Don’t lie, Eva. Frank told me how you seduced him. And another thing, Eva, you’ve got Kyle while I’ve got no one.” Marian’s face turned red as she tried to keep from crying.
Eva shook her finger at Marian. “I didn’t seduce Frank; he wanted to marry me. I didn’t know he killed Vard until after Alex was shot. I didn’t know any of these things. I’m surprised that Alex went all the way to New Orleans to get Cindy. He knew she was a slut, and you knew it, too. You didn’t do a thing when you knew that Raphe was in the barn with her while Frank was giving you what you came to the ranch to get!”
“What?” Cindy jumped into the conversation. “Did Alex know about me and Raphe being in the hayloft? I asked Alex first, but he turned me down.”
“We’ve got to decide who we want to be here after the dust settles,” Marian piped in.
“Alex isn’t going to allow Frank and Raphe to just ride back to Mexico,” Eva remarked. “They might hire more killers. They’ve gotten off without paying the price the last three times, but Alex will go after them for sure this time.”
Eva faced Marian and Cindy. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to stay with Kyle—if he’ll have me. We’ve got a good life here on the ranch. Cindy, have you seen the house Alex has built for you in Thunder Canyon? It’s really something. He’s hoping that you’ll eventually come to your senses. Are you going to come to your senses, or are you going to run off with that rat Raphe again?”
Turning to Marian, Eva said, “Marian, you can have Frank; I don’t want him. But you’ll have to go back to Mexico with him. He can’t stay here. I’ll charge him with murdering my husband.”
“Well, I’m sure not going to Mexico with Raphe,” Cindy replied. “I remember what he did to me when I went to New Orleans with him.”
“If you want to save Raphe,” Eva said, “you’d better tell him to get out of here quick, and take Frank with him. I think they’re both hiding somewhere on this ranch waiting for a chance to kill Kyle and Alex. But don’t underestimate Kyle—I’ve seen him shoot. He’s not as fast as Alex, but he’s good.”
Cindy didn’t respond, but she remembered that Raphe would be able to see this whole area from the hayloft. She had no idea where Frank was, but she was sure that he would be well hidden. After all, he had been the foreman of this ranch for several years, and he knew the place better than anyone.
* * *
“Well, Kyle, what do you think?” Alex asked in a quiet voice. “Are these women worth fighting for?”
“That question is as old as Adam and eve. I don’t know if they’re worth fighting for, but I’ve lived alone long enough to know that life without a woman is not a happy life, so I’ll stay and fight.”
“I�
�m the sheriff, so I can arrest Frank and Raphe and let a jury decide what to do with them. But before I can arrest them, I’ve got to find them.”
Alex looked out the window and saw Cindy go into the barn. “of course! That’s where they’ll be. . . . Kyle, have your men surround that barn and don’t let anyone out. I’ll go in after them. After positioning your men, you wait here in the house. Memories of that barn have haunted me for a long time; It would be a good place to bring this mess to a conclusion. If Frank or Raphe is in that barn, I’ll arrest them. If either of them points a gun at me, I’ll kill him. You do as you wish, and good luck, but don’t forget, Eva and Marian are in this house.”
“Don’t you forget that Cindy is in that barn.”
Chapter 24
Rain was spattering on the roof of the barn, and the wet straw on the floor muffled the sound of Alex’s movements. He slipped through the barn door and waited. He heard voices in the hayloft but couldn’t understand what they were saying. He climbed partway up the ladder and listened.
Legend of the Lost Page 24
