The Secret Saddle_Anna Troy's Emancipation

by Dani Larsen

  She cowered behind the door when he came in. He was looking mean and angry.

  "What can I do for you, Son?"

  "Have you seen that Pinkerton fella here lately?"

  "No, he hasn't been in for a couple of months now."

  "Good. I don't need that bastard snooping around."

  "How's the new job, Jude?"

  "Well, I just lost all my week's pay at that poker table. That is how good it is. That son of a bitch was cheating me."

  "Jude, maybe you should be saving your money and not playing poker."

  "Are you going to tell me what to do? You stupid whore, you ain't never been a mother to me. Why are you trying to be one now?"

  "I'm sorry, Jude. I shouldn't have said anything."

  "Damn right, you shouldn't have. Now, tell me ... What is the name of that bastard who sired me? And where is the son of a bitch? He owes me, and I mean to find him."

  "No, Jude, I ain't going to tell you that. I told you he wasn't a good man."

  "I don't care what kind of man he is. I want to know about him. What's his name?" He reached over with his left hand, grabbed D'Alene by her long black hair, and pulled her up into his face.

  "Who is he?"

  "Jude, please don't, you are hurting me. It's not good to know about him."

  Jude pulled his fist back and hit her as hard as he could in the face. The sound of her jaw breaking echoed through the room.

  He picked her up by her hair again. "Now, tell me! What is his name?"

  She was choking up blood as she tried to talk. "His name was Jack Bane. He was an Englishman who was in Oregon looking for gold. He was evil."

  "Tell me more."

  "Ain't nothing more to tell." She could hardly talk.

  "Tell me everything, or I swear I'll kill you right now."

  She didn't say anything, so he punched her in the stomach as hard as he could. She slumped over on the floor, unable to breathe.

  "Now, I want to know! NOW!"

  "Okay, okay, let me catch my breath." She gasped.

  "I heard tell, he was shot over by Baker City a few years back. He had murdered and robbed some Chinamen in a gold mine east of there, is all I know. He and Mac were killed a few days later by some woman, and the other members of his gang went to prison."

  "Where's the gold?"

  "I don't know, Jude, we were no longer together. This is just the story that I heard from some passing cowboys after that."

  He slapped her again hard. She moaned, as she tried to climb up in the bed.

  "He probably put it in his saddle bags. He had some kind of a secret place in those bags, which were attached to that saddle he prized so much."

  "Where did it go? Who has it?"

  "I don't know, maybe one of his men. Maybe the sheriff has it." She moaned as she spoke, and her speech was becoming more slurred as she was having difficulty speaking."

  "Describe it."

  "It had his initials sewn on it with engraved silver; a big JB on each side. It was the only thing he owned besides his horse. That's all I know, Jude. Please don't hit me again." Blood was seeping slowly from her mouth and down her chin, staining her dress.

  "How am I going to find out what happened to it?"

  "Find the sheriff." Her words were slow and filled with gurgling sounds. "I heard he still hangs around Baker City. He's not the sheriff anymore, just the town drunk. He should be able to tell you what happened to it. Please don't hurt me anymore, Jude."

  "Don't you tell anybody who hit you! Do you hear me? I still have to work at the ranch. I need money to get out of town, in case that Pinkerton guy comes back. But, if I need to get out of town, I need to know where I can get some money."

  "I won't tell anyone, Jude. I promise."

  "If you do, I will come back, and I will kill you. Do you understand me?"

  "Yes, Jude. I understand."

  He picked up the blanket that had fallen on the floor and threw it at her. Then he walked out the door, went over and quietly got his horse from the front of Anton's, and headed out of town, nursing his bruised hand.

  An hour later, Gus and Molly went over to the boarding house. As they were about to enter Molly's room, they heard some moaning coming from down the hall. They knocked on Dolly's door, but just heard more moaning, so they opened the door and found Dolly lying on the bed, covered with blood.

  "Oh my God!" Molly said. "Please go get the doctor, Gus. Dolly's hurt."

  Gus hurried down the stairs and went to the doctor's place on the outskirts of town. He banged on the door until the doctor answered the door in his nightshirt.

  "What is it, Son?"

  "A woman's been beat up real bad. She's at the boarding house."

  "Okay. Give me a minute, and you can take me there."

  He closed the door, got dressed, and came out with his bag. Gus led him to the woman's room, and then waited outside. Molly stayed there to help the doctor. Gus sat on the steps thinking about the conversation that he had overheard earlier in the evening. He was pretty sure that this woman was beat up by Jude, but he didn't know how he could prove it. Dolly had a lot of customers, and most of them just met her at her room.

  When the doctor came out of the room he spoke to Gus.

  "Whoever did this is a brutal man. Her jaw is broken bad, and who knows what damage he did to her female organs when he hit her as hard as he did in the stomach."

  "Did she say who did it?"

  "No, she won't name him. She acts like she doesn't remember who did it, but she is obviously scared. I will report this to the sheriff in the morning. Thanks for coming to get me. I wired her jaw shut, so she won't be able to talk for quite a while. Somebody better go tell Tilly what happened to her girl."

  "I will go find her and tell her right now."

  "Okay, thanks. Appreciate your help."

  Gus went over to Anton's place to tell Tilly and Anton what happened.

  Chapter Fifteen

  "Lurking Danger"

  Frank left for town after he ate supper. He needed to fill his new car's tank with gas, and he planned to stop by Anton's Saloon and spend a little time with his brother. He enjoyed the drive into La Grande. It was beautiful, especially in the fall; with the leaves on the Bigtooth Maples changing to different shades of golds, oranges, and reds. The scenery while driving over the Pyle Creek Bridge was one of the loveliest along the road; with the sparkling crystal blue of the rushing Pyle Creek on its way to the Grande Ronde River. The ginger and crimson colors of the Sumac and Chokecherry bushes, which lined the banks, were spectacular. The sounds of the insects could be heard even above the sounds of his car's engine, and the warmth of the afternoon sun felt good as he enjoyed the day. He had always been pleased with the property choice he had made, when he had brought his family to the Grande Ronde Valley. The family was happy here, and he had become a successful rancher.

  He got gas when he arrived in town and spent some time talking to the guys who worked at the La Grande Machine Shop, where he had purchased the car. They asked how things were at the ranch, and he spent some time talking about how good things were, as he always enjoyed talking about his home. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, when he pulled up in front of Anton's Saloon.

  Anton immediately came out from behind the bar to greet his brother. He dried his hands on a bar rag before warmly hugging him, the smell of freshly poured beer still on them.

  "Hi, Strauss, it's good to see you."

  "Hey, Strauss, how are you? And how is Delia and everything at your ranch?"

  "Well, everyone is good at home. Delia sends her love. The boys have been taking pretty good care of the ranch without me. Business has been good here, and everything has been pretty quiet in town, until last night."

  "What happened last night?"

  "Have a seat, Frank, and I'll tell you all I know. What do you want to drink?"

  "Just a beer would be fine, Tony. Caroline fed me before I left the ranch."

  Tony drew a beer
from the tap and pulled himself one too, then brought them over to the table and set them down.

  "Well, brother, we've all been pretty upset and worried about Dolly today. Somebody beat her pretty bad last night."

  "That is one of Tilly's girls, isn't it? Who would do such a thing? Is she going to be okay?"

  "The doctor had to try to put her jaw back together with wire, so it would heal properly, or he said her face will be all misshapen. He isn't sure she doesn't have some internal injuries, as he punched her really hard in the stomach too. Time will tell, whether she will ever be the same again. Probably won't ever be able to talk normally again. I went over to see her this morning, and I must say she is a wreck. She just lays there and cries, not able to talk at all. It's hard for me to believe that a man can treat a woman like that."

  "Do they know who did it?"

  "The doc said, she acted like she didn't know or didn't remember who did it. Course, she can't talk now, but she is either protecting someone, or whoever did it hit her so hard she really doesn't remember. She was hanging out with one of the two strangers that were here last night, before she left, and they both left shortly after she did. The sheriff was here a little while ago, and he was asking who all was in here last night. It might have been someone who broke into her room and was waiting for her there."

  "Who was in here last night, Tony?"

  "It was a slower night than usual for a Saturday. There were those two fellas that were just passing through. They are long gone now. Several local guys who come in all the time, and your ranch hands were here."

  "My fellas were here?"

  "Yeah, four of your guys were here. I thought I was going to have to break up a fight between Jude and one of the fellas passing through. They got in a fight over a poker hand. Jude called him a cheater, and the other guy stood up and reached for his holster. Good thing I collect all guns when they enter my door."

  "Yes, it sure is. What happened after that?"

  "Jude threw down his cards and quit. I think he lost a lot of money. Then he sat down at a table and had one last drink. Dolly went over and sat down with him for a few minutes, but he told her to get lost pretty loudly, and she did. He drank his beer, got his gun, and headed back to your ranch. Dolly went back over to talk to the fella she had been flirting with. She left alone about ten minutes later, and those two guys left a few minutes after that."

  "That really is too bad. She is probably scared of whoever did it, as he probably threatened her not to tell or he'd be back. Wonder if the sheriff will go after those two fellas to see what they know about it."

  "Doubtful. You know him; he kind of acts like those girls get what they deserve."

  "Yeah, he always did act like he could care less about them. Well, hope whoever did it doesn't come back."

  "I thought maybe one of those strangers was that wayward son of hers that the Pinkerton Fella was looking for. That would be a reason for her not to tell on him."

  "Yeah, I guess that would be a good reason. If it is, then I'm glad they cleared out of town. We don't need that kind of feller hanging around La Grande."

  "Do you want to go for a ride in my car, Tony?"

  "No, I better not, Frank. Only the girl in the back cooking is here, besides me, and I don't want whoever did that to Dolly to come back and hurt anybody else."

  "Good idea, Tony. Well, I better head back to the ranch before Caroline starts worrying about me. I would like to pay the doctor for taking care of, what's her real name? D'Alene? And I'll pay for any extra care she might need after this. Please ask the doctor to send me his bill.

  "In fact, Tony, would you make sure D'Alene gets this? I'm sure she will need some money while she heals." Frank opened his wallet and gave his brother two twenty dollar bills. "I will stop at the bank on my way out of town and get some more cash and bring her some more next week. It just isn't right that something like this should happen to someone who has to work in her kind of business to survive."

  "Thanks, Frank. That is very kind of you. I'm sure she will appreciate it. Delia sent a big pot of soup for her to eat, until she is able to eat more solid food. This will really help her out. I'll tell the doctor when he checks in with her later today. The beer is on me, brother."

  "Oh no, you are not in this business to give beer away. Take care now, Strauss." Frank put a dollar bill on the table and put his wallet back in his pocket.

  "You too, Strauss, and give my love to Caroline and Sylvester."

  The brothers gave each other another big hug. Anton watched Frank drive off and thought how lucky he was to have such a fine brother, while Frank wondered who could have done such a terrible deed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  "Frank's Discovery"

  After Frank left for town, Jude went to the stable to check on the work the other hands had done that morning. Gus followed him in.

  "What do you want now, Gus? I told you to quit bugging me."

  "Jude, I overheard your conversation with Dolly last night at the table. I heard you say "meet me at your room in ten minutes." I know what kind of temper you have, Jude. Did you beat up that woman?"

  "Gus, I told you I didn't touch that woman."

  "I see your knuckles, Jude. They're all scraped up. I think you are the one who beat on her. You were mad at that guy that took your money at the poker table, but he was too big, and you knew you couldn't win a fight with him, so you took your anger out on that poor woman. I know you did it, Jude. You ought to be ashamed. I think you should go into town and admit it, and tell her you're sorry."

  "Sorry! My ass! You son of a bitch. Mind your own damn business!"

  Jude ran at Gus and shoved him to the ground. Then he started pummeling him. One fist after another, Jude kept slamming into his face, until he heard the crunching of bones in his nose and smelled the blood that began spreading on his face. Jude had taken him by surprise. He tried to cover his face and fight back, but Jude wasn't letting up. He finally was able to roll the man off of him and start punching. He got in one good hit, but Jude ducked and it landed on his shoulder. He did knock Jude off balance though, and he fell to the ground.

  "You son of a bitch! How could you hurt that helpless woman? I'm not working with you anymore. I won't work with a woman beater! You are an asshole!"

  "You get the hell off this property. Leave the address where you'll be on your bunk, and I'll make sure Frank sends you what pay you have coming. Now, get out of here, before I beat the crap out of you too!"

  Gus was fuming as he walked to the bunkhouse. He pulled out his handkerchief and held it to his nose, while he grabbed his saddle bags off the end of his bunk and his bed roll out from underneath it with his other hand. He shoved the few extra clothes he had into the bags and put on his holster and gun. He grabbed a sheet of paper, from the paper they used for time cards on the table, and wrote down his brother's address in Pendleton and threw it on top of his bunk, then went out to saddle his horse.

  Jude had left the stables, wanting to check on the other cowhands to make sure they hadn't overheard. Gus went into the stable and saddled his horse. He was on his horse and on the way off the ranch, within half an hour after the fight. He had only been able to stop his nose from bleeding, but hadn't even wiped the blood off of his face. His eye was so swollen he could hardly see, and he was sure his nose was broken. He took the kerchief off of his neck and tried to clean his face of the drying blood. He could feel that his lip was swollen too.

  As he rode to the edge of the property, where he planned to turn north toward the Blue Mountains and the city of Pendleton, he saw Frank's car coming down the road. He stopped his horse and waited for the car to drive up.

  Frank saw the man on his horse by the side of the road. He knew it was Gus by the clothes he was wearing, and he recognized his horse, but his face was so beat up that it didn't even look like Gus.

  Frank pulled up next to him.

  "What in the world happened to you, Gus?"

  "That damn Jude
just beat the crap out of me. I accused him of beating up that woman in town last night, and he got mad and this is the result. Sorry, Mr. Hempe, I can't work with that man any more. I left my brother's address on my bunk. You can send my pay there, sir."

  "Do you know how much it is, Gus?"

  "It should be about thirty dollars, Mr. Hempe."

  Frank got out of the car, pulled some money out of his pocket, and gave Gus forty dollars.

  "I'm sorry, Gus. I will be checking into this further, and Jude will not be getting away with it, if he is the one who beat up that poor woman."

  "Thank you, Mr. Hempe. I think he has done a lot of things over the years to cause trouble and blamed it on George and me. I was going to say something before, but the time was never right. Watch your back, and don't trust him for a minute."

  "Giddy up." Gus nudged his horse and headed on down the road.

  Frank sat in his car for several minutes, thinking about what Gus had just said. He was trying to decide what to do. Finally, he drove into the ranch. He parked his car in front of the house and went in to tell Caroline he was home. She was sitting in her rocking chair doing some darning. Mary and Agnes had gone to a quilting Bee with some friends after church, so it was just Caroline, Sylvester, and Frank at home.

  "Hi, honey, how is Anton?"

  "He and Delia are doing fine. Been a few problems at the saloon, but I'll tell you about it when I come back. I've got something to take care of first. Where is Sylvester?"

  "He went over to visit his new girl. Their ranch is on the other side of Anton's. I think he is getting serious about her. Her dad wants him to come and work for his company in town. He owns the print shop in La Grande. I told him we could use his help here on the ranch."

  "Yeah, you know he never has been that interested in ranching, Caroline. He seems to have been made out of a different mold than the rest of them.

  "Okay, I'm going out now. I might take another ride into town, so don't worry if I don't come back for a while. I'll be back for dinner though."