by Tell Cotten
“Well, she’s not. Not anymore.”
“Where did her wealth go? Did she give it away?”
“Something like that.”
“And that makes you happy.”
“Does.”
“Most men in your position would be happier if she was wealthy,” Cooper pointed out.
“I’m not like most folks.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Cooper smiled. He thought a moment, and added, “Our little house is going to be crowded.”
“Been considering that,” Yancy replied. “Judge Parker told me the Texas Rangers are planning on building a Ranger Station right there at Midway. There’ll be living quarters in the back. Jessica and I can live there, and you, Josie, and Wyatt can have the house.”
“You have this all figured out.”
“You don’t like it?”
“No, it should work,” Cooper said, and he smiled as another thought occurred to him. “Does Sheriff Wagons know?” He asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“He’ll be thrilled, having you right next to him.”
Yancy grunted at that, and Cooper’s smile lingered.
“This’ll be the first time we’ve lived apart since before the war,” Cooper pointed out. “Take some getting used to.”
“We can visit often.”
Cooper chuckled, and Yancy joined in.
Before Cooper could reply, Lee Mattingly cleared his throat from across the camp.
“This conversation has been touching, but would you two wrap it up soon? Some of us are actually trying to sleep.”
Yancy scowled. He started to reply harshly, but then decided against it. He nodded goodnight to Cooper, and it fell silent as he settled down into his bedroll.
Chapter eighteen
They were up before daylight. They rebuilt the fire, cooked breakfast and coffee, and ate. Afterwards, they rolled up their bedrolls and packed up camp.
Rondo and Lee looked anxious, and Brian grinned at them while they saddled their horses.
“You two look eager,” he said, and their faces reddened slightly.
“I reckon I am,” Rondo admitted. “I haven’t seen Rachel in a long while.”
Brian nodded and looked at Lee.
“You must be anxious to see Jeremiah Wisdom.”
“What for?” Lee looked confused.
“You know. The hotel. We’ve got to get everything settled. Jeremiah isn’t even aware that we’re his new partners.”
“Hotel can wait.”
“Oh?” Brian tried to look surprised. “If not the hotel, then what is it?”
“You know.”
“Reckon I do,” Brian said, and grinned widely.
Lee tightened his cinch, turned, and noticed Brian’s grin.
“You’re enjoying seeing me suffer, ain’t you,” Lee scowled.
“Yes, I believe I am.”
“Why?”
“Mebbe I’m rooting for you. And for April, and June.”
“She might not even talk to me.”
“I think she will,” Brian replied, and added, “She’ll be mighty glad to see you too.”
Lee smiled at the thought.
Chapter nineteen
They were just about to climb on their horses when Cooper spotted some movement in the distance. There were also little puffs of dust in the air.
“Riders coming,” he announced.
“How many?” Yancy asked as he walked up beside Cooper and squinted.
“’Bout a half dozen, give or take,” Cooper replied, and added, “They seem to be in a hurry.”
Yancy nodded in agreement, and they watched as the riders approached from the west.
“That’s Ross Stewart in front,” Rondo suddenly said.
“Yeah, and that’s Jeremiah Wisdom behind him,” Lee added.
“I wonder what he’s doing out here?” Brian frowned his disapproval. “He should be in town, running our hotel.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Lee replied.
As they got closer, they could tell that the horses were lathered in sweat, and the men’s faces looked grim.
“It’s early to be sweating like that,” Cooper observed. “They must have ridden through the night.”
“Trouble,” Yancy said softly, and everyone nodded.
They rode up and halted in front of them. Rondo recognized the other men from town, and they nodded somberly at each other.
“Am I glad to see you fellows,” Ross broke the silence.
Ross was the sheriff at Empty-lake. He had a tall and lanky frame, with tanned skin and brown hair. When he spoke he always displayed a rich, Texas drawl.
Using his thumb, Ross pushed the brim of his hat up. He took in a big breath, let it out, and looked at Rondo.
“I have bad news,” he announced, his voice grim.
“We figured you did,” Rondo said.
“It’s about Rachel and April.”
Rondo’s face filled with concern while Lee looked startled.
“What about her?” Rondo asked, his voice curt.
“She’s been taken,” Ross declared, and added, “April too.”
“Taken by whom?”
“Injuns.”
“This far south?” Rondo looked doubtful. “Injuns haven’t raided down here in years.”
“Well, these Injuns did,” Ross said sourly. “They attacked the Tomlin’s headquarters. Rachel and April were out riding, and they never showed back up.”
“June?” Lee spoke, his voice hoarse.
“She’s fine,” Ross reassured. “She was with the Tomlins.”
“And the Tomlins?” Rondo asked.
“Mr. Tomlin got a bullet in the shoulder, and Buster got hit in the leg. Other than that, they’re fine. They were holed up at the main house and were able to fight ’em off.”
Rondo nodded, and his face paled as his thoughts returned to Rachel.
“When did this happen?” Cooper spoke up.
“Two days back.”
“Find out anything?”
“Some,” Ross nodded. “Tracks are heading northwest. Big bunch too, around thirty horses. We trailed ’em for a day, but then we ran out of supplies.”
“Are you going after them?”
Before Ross could reply, Jeremiah Wisdom spoke up.
“I am,” he said in a quiet, stern voice.
Jeremiah had a long history with the Landons. An educated man, he was cunning and careful. He was tall and thin, and his face was dark from the sun. He spoke the Apache language fluently and was also a clever poker player.
Jeremiah had been on the wrong side of the law for several years. Recently, he’d been attempting to live an honest life by owning and operating The Palace Hotel.
Everybody was also aware of his feelings for April, including Lee.
Yancy studied Jeremiah with thoughtful eyes and cleared his throat.
“You know about Injuns,” he recalled.
“Some,” Jeremiah nodded.
“Care to speculate which tribe it was?”
“Direction they’re headed, I’d say Apaches. Them, or Kiowas.”
“Make any difference?”
“Nope. Neither one likes us.”
“I was afraid of that,” Yancy said. He glanced at Cooper and added, “Well, there’s only one thing to do.”
“What’s that?” Ross spoke back up.
“Go get ’em back.”
Chapter twenty
“What about Lucy Nash?” Rondo looked at Yancy.
“She can wait,” he replied.
Rondo looked thoughtful and said, “You and Coop did this before, when you got Wyatt back.”
“That’s right.”
“How exactly did you accomplish that?” Rondo asked. “You never told us.”
Yancy glanced at his brother, and Cooper cleared his throat and took over.
“The plan was to trade for Wyatt, but we lost our trading goods,” he explained. “We had to
find another way.”
“And what was that?” Lee asked.
“Well, a thunderstorm helped.”
“A thunderstorm?”
Cooper nodded.
“That’s nice, but we can’t count on a thunderstorm,” Lee pointed out with a hint of sarcasm.
“I wouldn’t suggest it,” Cooper agreed.
“How about trading for Rachel and April?” Rondo asked, and there was hope in his voice. “If we pooled our money together, we could buy some trade goods.”
“I don’t think so,” Jeremiah spoke up, and everybody looked at him.
“Why not?” Rondo demanded.
“This wasn’t a normal Injun raid,” Jeremiah explained. “They traveled all this way and only attacked one ranch. Seems odd to me.”
“Almost sounds personal,” Yancy said.
“It does,” Jeremiah agreed.
Yancy looked thoughtful, but didn’t reply.
“We can figure this out later,” Lee broke in impatiently. “We’re wasting time. Let’s get a move on.”
“There’s no need for you to come along,” Jeremiah shot Lee a dark look.
“Why’s that?” Lee narrowed his eyes.
“We don’t need your sort.”
“What sort would that be?”
“You know.”
Rage filled Lee’s face, but Yancy spoke before he could reply.
“Hold it. Both of you,” his voice was stern. “Lee has just as much right to come along as the rest of us. But, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about this.”
A few tense seconds passed. Jeremiah scowled but remained silent while Lee breathed deeply, exhaled, and nodded.
“What do you suggest?” He asked.
Yancy didn’t reply. He looked at his brother, and Cooper took over.
“First thing we’ve got to understand,” he said, “is that we ain’t gonna catch them unless they want us to.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Lee argued. “I can travel fast. Especially alone.”
“The Apaches can travel faster,” Cooper replied matter-of-factly. “And, they have a two day lead on us.”
Lee frowned, but didn’t reply.
“Expect to be gone a while,” Cooper continued. “We won’t catch ’em until they stop, and that probably won’t happen until they’re safe in the mountains.”
“That could take weeks,” Lee objected.
“Sure could,” Cooper agreed. “So, first thing, we’ll ride to town and gather some supplies.”
“Then what?” Lee asked.
“We’ll start tracking them.”
Lee pinched his face in thought and nodded slowly.
“Sounds like a reasonable plan,” he finally said.
Cooper looked at the rest of them.
“Any objections?”
Nobody said anything.
“All right,” Cooper said. “Let’s get to town.”
Everybody mounted up. They kicked up their horses, and Ross fell in beside Yancy.
“I’d like to come along,” he offered.
Yancy thought it over and shook his head.
“No, a sheriff belongs in his town.”
Ross frowned reluctantly, and no more words were spoken as they trotted towards town.
Chapter twenty-one
Brian had a lot on his mind.
He was deeply concerned about Lee, April, and June, and he was worried about their hotel.
There was also Jeremiah Wisdom to consider. Brian rode beside him, and he looked disturbed and slightly irritated.
This troubled Brian, because he knew a confrontation was building between Jeremiah and Lee concerning April.
“You had a long night,” Brian spoke, attempting to start a conversation.
Jeremiah glanced up from his brooding.
“You say something?”
“You rode a long ways last night,” Brian tried again.
“I reckon we did.”
Brian nodded. It was silent a moment, and he asked, “With you gone, who’s running the hotel?”
“My partner.”
Brian was startled.
“Partner?”
“That’s right.”
“I wasn’t aware you had another partner.”
“I was short on money.”
Brian didn’t like that, and he frowned his disapproval.
“A hotel is supposed to bring in money,” he reminded. “When we left, you had over twenty thousand dollars. What happened to it?”
“I had a bad run at poker, just like Lee did.”
“How bad?”
“Bad enough.”
Brian scowled at that.
“You should have asked Jessica Tussle before you took on another partner,” he scolded.
Jeremiah was tiring of the conversation.
“How could I? I haven’t even met her.”
“That’s why Lee and I are here,” Brian informed.
“Oh?”
“Jessica isn’t your partner anymore. She sold out, so to speak.”
“To whom?”
“Me and Lee.”
Jeremiah’s face remained blank, and he said in a curt voice, “Not sure what to think about that.”
“And I’m not sure what to think about your new partner,” Brian said.
Jeremiah grunted.
“Right now, all I care about is getting April back,” he said.
“Are you two good friends now?” Brian pried for information.
“We’re more than that.”
“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Lee and April are also close,” Brian warned. “Very close.”
“I’m aware.”
A few tense seconds passed, and Brian commented, “Well, there’ll be plenty of time to figure things out later.”
“Should be.”
“There’ll be a lot to figure out too.”
“Yes,” Jeremiah replied. “It would appear so.”
Chapter twenty-two
They reached town midmorning.
Empty-lake was mostly a cow town of some two-dozen buildings. Two establishments stood out the most. The sheriff’s office built by the late Lieutenant Porter, and The Palace Hotel.
Rondo, Lee, and Brian received curious looks as they walked their horses down the main street. They halted at the general store, dismounted, and tied their horses to the hitching railing.
Yancy, Cooper, and Rondo went inside while Jeremiah hurried over to the hotel. Ross walked across the street to check in at the sheriff’s office, and Lee and Brian stayed with the horses.
While they had a moment, Brian told Lee about Jeremiah’s new partner. Lee listened, but Brian could tell that he was only partly interested.
“Should we meet this new partner before we head out?” Brian wondered.
“You do what you think best,” Lee replied.
“I was asking your opinion.”
“Right now, I just don’t care.”
“But it’s our hotel,” Brian objected.
Lee just grunted his response.
Brian looked thoughtful as he watched Jeremiah come out of the hotel and walk towards them.
“I reckon it can wait,” he finally said.
***
They packed their supplies on Jug-head and No-see-ums, and then they untied their horses and mounted up.
Ross stood by and watched them.
“Good luck,” he said.
“Thanks,” Rondo said.
Ross looked wistful while Yancy glanced around at everyone.
“Everybody ready?” He asked.
They nodded, so Yancy kicked up his horse. Cooper followed, and he led Jug-head. Next in line was Rondo, followed by Lee, Brian and No-see-ums, and then Jeremiah.
Chapter twenty-three
They rode west, towards the Tomlin’s headquarters. The mood was somber, and nobody talked.
It was a five-mile ride.
As they trotted up, they spotted Mr. Tomlin sitting on the por
ch beside his wife. His shoulder was bandaged, but he still managed to hold his rifle across his lap.
Buster was also on the porch; his leg bandaged and hiked up on the railing.
Rory and June were in front of the house, on their hands and knees, playing a game of marbles.
The game came to an abrupt halt when they were spotted. June retreated to the porch, and Rory grabbed his rifle and stood by the steps.
Their faces were tense, but everyone relaxed when they recognized the Landons.
They dismounted, tied their horses to the hitching rail, and walked towards the main house.
Lee was slightly behind, and June didn’t recognize him until he had reached the porch steps.
A small cry came from her lips, and tears spilled down her face as she ran toward him.
A hesitant smile crossed Lee’s face. June hugged him, and Lee was surprised at how fiercely she clung to him.
“Now, now,” Lee said gruffly, and he patted her on the back. “What’s this?”
“I knew you’d come back! I just knew it!”
Lee didn’t know what to say, and he looked uncomfortable.
“I’m here,” he finally said.
Jeremiah stood nearby, and he watched the scene with an emotionless face.
Lee finally pulled away, but June held his hand firmly as they joined everybody on the porch.
“We heard what happened,” Rondo was saying, and added, “We’re going after them.”
“If anybody can get them back, it’ll be you fellows,” Mr. Tomlin declared, and he added bitterly, “It’s been difficult, just sitting here, not being able to do anything.”
“We’ll get Rachel back, and April too,” Rondo declared.
“I know you will.”
Yancy cleared his throat.
“Do the Apaches have any grudges against you, Mr. Tomlin? Seems odd they would travel all this way just to attack your ranch.”
“Seemed strange to me too,” Mr. Tomlin agreed. “But, I can’t think of anything. ’Course, I’ve fought Injuns before, but so have a lot of folks.”
Yancy nodded thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything.
“Well, we’d best be on our way,” Rondo spoke up. “We just wanted you to be aware of the situation.”
