Slocum at Hangdog

by Jake Logan

  “There they are,” he said.

  “Just keep watching them,” said Slocum. “I have an idea that they’re going to look for Rat’s Ass.”

  “Tell us what happened,” said Speer.

  “I caught up with Rat’s Ass,” Slocum said. “He told me what I wanted to hear. Rowland and them killed the two cowboys and run off the cattle.”

  “Burned the barn?”

  “Yeah. That too. He said he didn’t know who it was that brought Rowland here, though.”

  “You believe him?”

  “I think so. It don’t matter, though, what I think about that.”

  “You ain’t telling it all, Slocum,” said the sheriff.

  “Well, we kind of got into a tussle while I was quizzing him up. He got his gun, and I had to kill him.”

  “Where was you at?”

  “Outside of your jurisdiction.”

  “At least that part’s good. I’ll just have to take your word for it.”

  “Them four is headed for the livery,” said Stumpy.

  Down the street, Dyer was leading Rats Ass, still slung across his saddle, to the undertaker’s. Rowland saw him and raised a hand to signal his cohorts. “You boys just keep your mouths shut,” he said. He hurried on over to intercept the liveryman with his putrid load. “Say, that’s our pard you’re lugging there.”

  Dyer stopped and looked at Rowland. “Yep,” he said.

  “How’d you get him?”

  “Slocum and the sheriff brought him over here. This here horse and Slocum’s horse had been rode, though. That’s all I know.”

  Rowland turned and walked back to the other three. “Slocum killed him,” he said. “I wonder did he talk first.”

  “What would he talk about?” said Cowley.

  “About them two cowboys we kilt, of course,” said Beebe.

  “And the cattle and the barn,” said Zeb Naylor.

  Beebe suddenly looked worried. “Well,” he said, “what do we do about it? Do we need to get the hell out of town?”

  “No,” said Rowland. “If he did talk to Slocum, it’ll be Slocum’s word against ours. Don’t worry about it. Don’t let anyone rattle your cages. That’s all. Come on. Let’s get back to the hotel.”

  “I’m hungry,” said Cowley.

  “Me too,” said Zeb Naylor.

  Rowland looked a little disgusted. He glanced at Beebe. Beebe nodded.

  “All right,” said Rowland. “All right. Let’s go.”

  Back inside Brenda’s Place, Stumpy said, “They’re headed thisaway.”

  “My guess,” said Slocum, “is that they were fixing to ride out after Rat’s Ass. They saw his body and got no more reason to ride out.”

  “What should I do when they come in here?” said Speer. “Should I arrest them?”

  “Not yet,” Slocum said. “We know they done it, but we still got no proof. And we still don’t know who it is they’re working for. We might needle them a little bit.”

  The door opened and Rowland came in followed by the others. They headed for a table, but Rowland paused by the table where Slocum, Stumpy, and the sheriff were seated.

  “Slocum,” Rowland said, “I hear you shot our little partner.”

  “Dead as I could do it,” said Slocum.

  “You kill him just for meanness, or did you have some reason?”

  “He pointed a gun at me,” said Slocum.

  “Well, I reckon that’s reason enough. He always was a little bit anxious.”

  “He talked to me a little first,” said Slocum.

  “Oh, yeah? What about?”

  “He told me that you boys killed those two cowhands out at Mix’s place. Run off his cattle and burned his barn.”

  “He said that, did he?”

  “He did.”

  “Wonder how come he’d say something like that?”

  “He said you’d slapped him around some,” Slocum said. “He was fed up with you and was cutting out on you.”

  “Oh, yeah. Well, that much was true. He was rude to the lady in here. I slapped him around a little for that. I guess he was pissed off about that. He must a been trying to get even with me for that when he told you that other stuff.”

  “I figured you’d say something like that,” said Speer.

  “It’s the only thing I can think of,” Rowland said.

  “I can think of another reason,” Speer said. “It’s the truth.”

  “Think what you want to, Sheriff,” Rowland said. “Thinking is one thing. Proving it’s another.”

  “How come you walked to the livery and then come back?” said Slocum.

  “What?”

  “Was you riding out after Rat’s Ass?”

  “Oh. I get your meaning. Naw, we was just out for a morning walk, and then I seen that man toting what’s left of Rat’s Ass off. I walked over to see what had happened. That’s all.”

  “We wouldn’t ride out nowhere without our breakfast,” said Beebe.

  Rowland gave Beebe a look that told him to keep his mouth shut. “If you gents will excuse us,” he said, “my boys here is awful hungry.”

  “You just watch your step,” said Speer. “ ’Cause we’ll be watching your every move.”

  “Watch away, Sheriff. We got nothing to hide.” He turned and walked over to another table, followed by his gang. They sat down and Brenda brought them coffee and took their orders. When she had gone back to the kitchen, Rowland and his gang talked in low tones.

  Speer continued to give them a hard stare. “Goddamn it,” he said, “I feel helpless as a damn baby. I’d sure like to slap them in jail.”

  “Be patient, Speer,” Slocum said. “All we got to do is outlast them. They got to make a move sooner or later.”

  Slocum and his friends finished their coffee, paid out, and left. Stumpy kept looking over his shoulder as they walked away from Brenda’s Place. When they got to the sheriff’s office, he took a chair by the front window and continued watching. Speer took his seat behind the big desk.

  “The sons of bitches,” he said. “I’d like to—”

  “Kill them?” said Slocum.

  “Put them in jail,” said Speer. “No. You’re right. I’d like to kill them.”

  When Rowland and the other three finished their meals, Rowland stopped at the counter to pay. Brenda gave him change, and he said, “Ma’am, I hope you’re not holding it against us what our former associate did in here.”

  “It’s forgotten,” she said.

  “I sure do thank you for that,” Rowland said. “He won’t be bothering you no more. I can guarantee that. I just seen his body. I heard that Slocum killed him.”

  “Slocum killed him?” she said.

  “That’s what I heard. I got no idea what for.” He tipped his hat. “Well, thank you again, ma’am. We’ll be seeing you.”

  He led the way outside. The four men stood on the sidewalk for a moment.

  “They’re onto us, Rowland,” said Beebe.

  “Maybe we’d ought to cut out of here,” Crowley said.

  “We ain’t going nowhere but to the hotel,” Rowland said. “Come on.”

  “They’re going back to the hotel,” said Stumpy from his spot by the window.

  “Just keep watching,” said Slocum.

  “It’s all we can do,” said Speer. “Goddamn it.”

  “They’re on someone’s payroll,” said Slocum. “If they don’t do something soon, he’s going to get impatient. We can’t get impatient first.”

  “I know you’re right,” said Speer. “It rankles me, though. They’re working for whoever it is that’s trying to get a war going between Mix and Ritchie? Is that what you’re thinking?”

  “That’s my best idea,” Slocum said. “If it ain’t that, then it’s either Mix or Ritchie out to get the other one.”

  “I think your first idea is the right one.”

  Out at the Mix spread, Mix was pacing the floor, fingering his six-gun. Helen had just brought out a coffe
epot and two cups. She put them down on the table and stopped to stare at Mix. “Dave,” she said, “will you stop that? Come over here and sit down. I got some fresh coffee.”

  Mix walked to the table and sat. Helen sat across from him. She poured them each a cup of coffee and shoved one across the table to him.

  “You’re making yourself crazy,” she said.

  “Someone killed two of our boys,” he said.

  “I know. They ran off our cattle and burned our barn. I know.”

  “Well, I feel like I got to do something about it.”

  “But what would you do? Kill James Ritchie? What if it’s not him?”

  “It’s got to be Ritchie,” Mix said. “There’s no one else. Is there?”

  “I don’t know, Dave. I just don’t know. Slocum thinks it’s me. What about that?”

  “I fired him.”

  “I know, but that’s not the point. As sure as you are that it’s Ritchie, Slocum could be that sure about me. We have to wait. We need some proof. Give it another week, Dave, before you do anything stupid.”

  Mix put his gun down on the table. “All right,” he said. “But if we have any more trouble out here, all bets are off.”

  Back in Hangdog in their cramped hotel room, Rowland and the other three sat around in silence. Finally, Cowley stood up and paced the floor. Rowland stood it as long as he could. “Cut that out,” he said. “Sit down.”

  “Hell,” said Cowley, “I can’t stand just setting around here like this.”

  “They’re watching us,” said Rowland.

  “Well, what are we going to do?” said Beebe.

  “Could we at least get a bottle of whiskey?” Zeb Naylor asked.

  “We got to stay sober,” Rowland said. “Play some cards.”

  “I ain’t got enough cash to play cards,” Cowley said. “This is making me crazy.”

  Rowland stood up. “All right,” he said. “Goddamn it. I’ll go see our employer. See if we can’t scheme up some action. You three just sit tight here till I get back.”

  18

  “We have to get rid of Slocum,” said the female voice. The room in which they met was dark, and she was sitting in shadow. “And we have to be clever about it. There can be no mistakes.”

  “You have some idea?” Rowland said.

  “He’s sweet on Brenda,” she said. “If you get Brenda, he’ll come looking for her.”

  “But he and the other two are watching every move we make.”

  “You ride out of town,” she said. “Slocum will follow you. While he’s busy watching you, your three boys can snatch Brenda. There’s an old line shack out on our ranch. I’ll draw you a map. Have your boys take her there. After you’ve kept him out of town long enough, turn around and ride back. We’ll have a note sent to Slocum. We’ll tell him to come by himself if he wants to see her alive again. You can be waiting to ambush him along to the way.”

  “All right,” Rowland said. “We’ll do it. There’s only one thing. Our cash is running low, and—”

  She tossed him an envelope. He opened it and looked inside to see a stack of bills.

  “There’ll be more when the job’s done,” she said.

  Rowland stood up and left the room.

  Sitting by the window in the sheriff’s office, Stumpy said, “Hey, Rowland’s riding out.”

  Slocum hurried over to the window and looked out. “He’s by himself,” he said. “You stay here. I’ll follow the son of a bitch.”

  “Be careful,” Stumpy said.

  “What if the others make a move?” said Speer.

  “Watch them,” said Slocum. He hurried out the door and hustled down the street to the livery to get his horse. Soon, he was on Rowland’s trail.

  Cowley and Zeb Naylor strolled out on the sidewalk. They rolled cigarettes and smoked, looking around nervously. Inside the sheriff’s office, Stumpy watched them. “I think they’re up to something,” he said. “They just look kind of suspicious like.”

  Speer walked over to the window to join him in staring at the two culprits. “They ain’t doing nothing,” he said. “Where’s the other one?”

  “He must still be up in the room,” Stumpy said.

  But Beebe had gone out the back door of the hotel and walked the back way to the livery, where he got their horses and one extra. He had them all saddled, and he rode the long way around to Brenda’s Place, where he left the horses behind her building. Then he walked the long way back, went back in the back door of the hotel, and walked out the front door.

  “There he is,” said Speer.

  “Yeah,” Stumpy said. “And there they go.”

  “They ain’t going far on foot,” said Speer.

  “They’re just going for a bite to eat,” Stumpy said. “Looks like they’re headed for Brenda’s.”

  Out on the road, Slocum had gotten close enough to Rowland that he could keep his eye on him. He was careful, though, not to let Rowland see him. He was curious about where Rowland was going all alone. He recalled that Rowland’s hired men apparently did not know who they were working for, and he thought that Rowland might be on his way to see his boss. He hoped so. It would be great to find out who it was. But he was not riding in the direction of the two ranches, Mix’s or Ritchie’s. If he was riding to meet his boss, it must be someone they had not thought of. Slocum was mighty curious.

  It was almost closing time, and there were just a few customers in Brenda’s Place when the three outlaws went in. They found a table and sat down. Brenda brought them coffee, and they ordered meals. She went back in the kitchen. One by one, the other customers finished their meals and paid. Soon, the three were the only ones left. Brenda brought their food. There were no witnesses around. Beebe stood up and pulled out his six-gun. He leveled it at Brenda.

  “What is this?” she said. “A robbery?”

  “We ain’t going to steal nothing but you,” Beebe said. “Head for the back door.”

  The other two stood up and stared hard at her. She thought for only an instant. She had no choice but to do as he said. She turned and walked through the kitchen, followed by the three hard cases. The went out the back door, where four saddled horses stood waiting. Cowley and Naylor mounted up. Beebe gestured toward the extra horse. “Climb on,” he said. Brenda swung herself up into the saddle, and Beebe mounted his horse. He glanced at Cowley and Naylor. “You two ride behind her,” he said. Then he looked at Brenda. “Follow me close.” He started riding the long way around town toward the ranches.

  Rowland stopped his horse and dismounted beside the road. Back on his trail, Slocum stopped. He found a spot where he could keep his eye on Rowland and he watched. The man sat down on a flat rock and took out a cigar. He lit it and puffed for a while. Then he got a bottle and a glass out of his saddlebags and poured himself a drink. He sat back down. Slocum thought that this must be his meeting place. Rowland was sitting casually smoking and having a drink. He must be waiting for someone.

  Stumpy glanced at the clock on the sheriff’s wall. “Speer,” he said, “Them three ought to have come out of Brenda’s by now.”

  Speer looked at the clock from behind his desk. “You’re right,” he said. “Let’s go over there and see what’s going on.” He got up and grabbed his hat. Stumpy stood up and followed him out the door. They walked fast over to Brenda’s. The door was unlocked, and they walked in, but they found the place empty. Speer walked into the kitchen. “Brenda,” he called out, but he got no answer. He walked back into the main dining room. “She ain’t here,” he said. Stumpy was standing beside a table with three plates on it.

  “Looky here,” he said. “They ain’t been touched.”

  Rowland stubbed out his cigar on the rock he had been sitting on, stood up and replaced the whiskey bottle and the glass in his saddlebags, and mounted his horse. Watching from his spot down the road, Slocum was puzzled. No one had showed up to meet with Rowland, and now Rowland was riding back toward town. Slocum pulled his horse into
the brush beside the road and waited till Rowland rode past him. He waited a little longer. Then he mounted up to follow.

  Rowland rode straight back into Hangdog, left his horse at the livery, and walked to the hotel. Wondering what the hell was going on, Slocum rode to Speer’s office. He found Speer pacing the floor and Stumpy slumped in his chair beside the window.

  “Slocum,” said Speer, as Slocum stepped inside, “They got Brenda.”

  “What? Who’s got her?”

  “Like you said, we watched them three,” said Stumpy. “We seen them go into Brenda’s. We waited, and they never come out again.”

  “So we walked over there and found the place open and no one inside.”

  “There was three plates of food that no one had touched,” said Stumpy.

  “Them three bastards had went in there and ordered food,” Speer said, “waited for everyone else to leave, and then they must have snatched her and went out the back door.”

  “Damn,” said Slocum. “Did you look out back?”

  “Sure,” said Speer.

  “Did you see any tracks?”

  “None that was clear.”

  “Come on,” Slocum said. “Let’s go back over there.”

  He rode and the other two walked behind him as fast as they could go. When they reached Brenda’s Place, Slocum was already out back checking the tracks.

  “Can you tell anything?” Speer said.

  “Not much more than what you already said. The ground’s pretty hard here. I’d say there was three, maybe four horses, but I can’t really tell which way they headed when they left here.”

  “It’s obvious that she was took away against her will,” said Speer. “There’s them three plates, and the door’s unlocked.”

  “They got her all right,” said Slocum. He ran outside and mounted his horse.