by Jake Logan
She nodded and wiped her mouth on the napkin. “How much education do you have?”
“Oh, enough. My father planned to send me to advanced military school, but then the war broke out. That put the lid on that. Why?”
“Just nosy, I guess.” She cradled the cup of coffee in both hands. “I could write a letter. Maybe. Spelling might be bad. But how do you write a letter like you’re going to write him?”
“Simply tell him what’s happening and how the deal was made.”
She nodded and lowered her voice. “Suppose Maw would like to read what we’re doing?”
“She might.” About then the waitress delivered the pencil, paper, and envelope to Slocum.
“Need anything else, we’ve got more.”
“Thanks very much.” He moved his empty plate aside.
“Aw,” Katy said privately. “She’d think I was simply bragging, telling her how many times a day we’ve been doing it. She don’t need to know either.”
They both laughed. He began writing the letter telling Austin how he made the deal. How many head he expected to sell the railroad every other day and the need to line up more stock for later. In just over four months he’d have all these cattle sold to the construction company. He wrote of how the Bank of Vinita would handle the payments and that he, Slocum, would talk to them before the first payment arrived. The same outfit held his ranch account. When he finished, he signed off and handed the letter to Katy.
She read it aloud in a low voice and shook her head. “Sounds just like you. I see now how to write one, like I talk. Good, I’m learning.”
He paid for the meal, giving the waitress a good tip, and she took his letter to mail it for him since the post office was not open that early. At the livery, Hank was still sleeping when his hustler brought out their horses and they saddled them.
“Land sakes,” Hank said, putting up his suspenders and coming out in the first light. “You two get up early enough, you don’t miss sunup.”
They laughed.
“I see he found you. I was sure hoping you’d get lost, Miss Katy, and I’d have to board you here till he got back.” They laughed as the man stretched, trying to get more awake.
With their horses saddled at last, Slocum booted Katy up on her horse and then swung up on his own. “Not today, Hank. We’ll see you sometime later.”
“I’d sure look after her real good.”
Katy shook her head, smiling, and they rode off for the slaughter pens. It was not quite noon when they arrived. A man named Tennet met them. He was in charge, and the newly employed butchers came out to see who they were and to peek at Katy between sharpening their long knives.
“They going to be here with the cattle today?” Tennet asked Slocum as they squatted on their boot heels under the canvas tent cover, which was popping in the wind.
Slocum nodded. “Darby will have them here by afternoon.”
“You and she can come up to the cook area. We’ll drink some coffee while we wait.”
Katy wrinkled her small nose at Slocum. “I’ll ride in that direction and let you know how far out they are.”
“Good. Be careful.” He went along and boosted her aboard. She threw him a kiss, turned the horse, and left in a lope.
The coffee was fresh and they talked about slaughtering beef. Slocum explained that the cattle had been putting on lots of flesh on the rich grass. Soon Blake arrived and asked about the cattle.
“Katy went to see about them. I imagine they’ll soon be here. We were in town last night and my man Darby is bringing them up.”
“Good enough. I couldn’t stand another day of complaining by the workers up there. They may eat me out of house and home when the beef does arrive.”
“Good, I have more. You haven’t heard where Rensler is at?”
“Not a word. The company is charging him with falsifying receipts for payment as well.”
“Good. Maybe we can throw away the key.”
“I hope so. This has been a big mess.”
Before the sun time turned to noon, Katy came short loping back to the pens. Flush faced, she slipped off her horse, and one of the men took the reins from her.
“They’re about an hour out,” she said and joined Slocum and the man.
Blake looked relieved, and they sat back on the benches as the cook rang the bell and everyone came to eat.
“How many of your hands are coming?” the head cook asked Slocum.
“Six,” Katy said. “Darby wanted to be sure they arrived so he has two extra men.”
“I’ll have enough food for them too,” the head cook said and went back to work.
“Thanks,” Slocum said, and some kitchen help brought the three of them each a loaded tin plate with a couple of oven-brown biscuits capping the top of them.
“Wow, the service is sure nice here,” Katy said to Blake.
“Can’t be good enough for you all. You’ve saved my neck.”
When they finished their meal, the sounds of bawling cattle began to resound across the prairie. The first job was about over and the tradition started.
In scaling the fifty head, they found they weighed 730 pounds apiece. At sixteen cents a pound, they brought Austin $5,840. Slocum was impressed. At that price they brought almost $117 a head. In Texas, they had probably cost Austin less than $20 a head six months earlier.
They shook hands around the table when the yard man came by and bragged on the flesh condition of the cattle to Blake, who looked even more relieved over that fact.
On horseback, Darby stopped by with a big, wide grin. “How many will you need day after tomorrow?”
“Plan on fifty more. He’ll get us word if he needs more than that,” Slocum said. “You boys better get to gathering.”
“Where are you headed?” Blake asked Slocum when Darby rode off.
“Back to Vinita to wire Austin about how well his cattle sold.”
Blake grinned, “You might be a hero with him too. Good to see you again, Katy.” He tipped his hat to her.
Slocum could have sworn she blushed. They left for Vinita.
“One good thing,” she said under her breath when they were out of hearing. “We can use one of those hotel beds again tonight.”
They arrived in Vinita about sundown, put their horses up, and washed up at the pump out in front of the livery. Then they went to the café. Hank waved them over to where he sat by himself.
“How did the sale go?”
“Fine,” Slocum said. “They were pleased. I’m certain my boss will be as well.”
Hank looked around the room, then when he looked satisfied, he said, “Two deputies from Kansas were in here today asking lots of questions about you.”
Slocum’s heart stopped as he searched the room. No familiar faces were in the place. His heart thumped under his breastbone like a sledgehammer. How long since he’d thought they’d given up pursuing him? A couple of years? He wasn’t certain.
“Was one of them riding an Appaloosa horse with a blanket ass?” Slocum asked.
Hank nodded. “What do they want you for?”
“Shooting a guy. A long time ago I was playing poker in Fort Scott, Kansas. A young man foolishly lost lots of money and, drunk, left the card room swearing to get even over his losses. Sounded like whiskey talk. Liquor was illegal in Kansas then. He left and came back threatening to shoot me. He pointed a gun at me and hesitated. I drew and shot him. His grandfather was rich and powerful. He had me charged with murder, and for several years he paid the expenses of those two brothers to chase me. It finally petered out, and I thought it was all clear. Guess that was too good to be true. Where did they go?”
“I guess out to the cow camp. Someone probably told them where you were at.”
He nodded at Hank. “I’ll have to take a powder. Darby can handle the job out there. I’ll just have to dodge them.”
“What can I do to help you?” Hank asked. “Hell, I was just getting to the point of liking you.”
Katy laughed.
“I need to get word to Darby that he’s going to be in charge of the deal from here on and wire Austin that my welcome wore out here.”
“What’ll he do? Austin, I mean.”
“Hell, he’s known about my problem with those two for years. He’ll trust whoever I put in charge.”
“Missy,” Hank said. “You ever need a roof or a friend, I’ll show you a good time, and you sure got a place to stay if you need one with me.”
“We’ll see. But thanks, Hank.”
“Yes, ma’am. I ain’t trying to steal ya. Just want you to know you’d have a good place here with me if you ever need it.”
She nodded and thanked him.
“Thanks, Hank. Katy you bring the horses, we’ll eat later,” Slocum said and headed for the front door. The telegraph office was a block away on foot. He figured Hank had been speaking straight enough to her.
He sent the message to Austin.
Austin, have to leave. Darby can handle the cattle. Good man. All is well up here otherwise. 50 cattle sold for $5,840. Slocum
When he came out of the office, Katy smiled. She had his horse in tow and handed him the reins. “Where to next?”
“The cow camp,” he said in a low voice.
“But—”
“They won’t be there all day if we ain’t there. We can swing around, come in from the north, and not meet them on the road.”
“I understand.”
So they short loped for a ways to miss the deputies. Found a small playa and rolled out the bedroll. With the horses watered and hobbled, Slocum and Katy chewed on some jerky under the stars and washed it down with canteen water. Then they took on undressing and forgetting about how close the law had gotten to them.
At dawn they were up and rode on to where they could look at the cow camp from a distance. With their horses out of sight, he took out his field glasses and scoped the camp from a rise. The south wind was whipping the grass stems around in their faces where they lay belly down in the forage as the light spread out over the cow camp. As he expected, there was no Ap horse around the chuck wagon. Nothing from the east. His pursuers had already left.
“Let’s go, Katy,” he said, getting up on his knees.
“I don’t want those deputies to get you.”
He put his arm around her. “They won’t get me, but soon I’m going to need to ride out of this country.”
She whirled and frowned at him. “Leave me?”
“Darling, sometime I warned you we’d have to part. I can’t dodge those men and keep track of you too.”
“Oh, Slocum, you can’t simply ride off.”
“Before I leave, I’ll cut you a check from Austin’s account big enough that, if you manage it right, you can live good for six months on it.”
“But I don’t need money, I need you.”
“You’ll understand someday. Did you hear my friend offer you a deal yesterday?”
“He won’t be the same.”
“Then go back to your mom’s.”
She slapped her forehead. “No, I can’t do that. That would be so damn boring. I could just cuss, I am so upset.”
“Baby, I don’t like it either, but it’s the cards we drew in life.”
“What about those brothers?”
“The Hudson brothers? Oh, I’ll get them. They only have a short time to live.”
“Let me go with you?”
“Too dangerous. After we see Darby, I’m tracking out of here.”
She frowned hard at him. “Where will you go?”
“I’m not certain.”
“Damn you, you won’t tell me. I’m going to cry.”
“Don’t do that. I never beat you.”
“Same thing, leaving me.”
“I simply have to.” She went along with him into the camp, then she left him to go find Hoosie and Buddy.
Darby came to greet him. “Who were those damn deputies come out here looking for you? Cussing bunch. I told them I run this camp and for them to just stay the hell out.”
Slocum explained their part in his life and his problems. He told Darby to write Katy a check for $400 to cover his and Katy’s wages. Austin wouldn’t care. Slocum had made that much or more off the first bunch of cattle he sold for him.
“The bank will take your checks. Just be fair and honest with the man.” Slocum sat down and wrote a note to the man at the bank that Darby would be in charge of the Triple A cow camp and that he, Slocum, had had to leave unexpectedly.
Slocum had Blue go catch his horse, Spook, and then he took Katy aside to speak to her privately. “Darby is going to pay you four hundred bucks, and that will take you a long ways. I’ve had a helluva time.”
“I’d rather have you.”
“What did she say about the liveryman?”
“Hoosie?”
When he nodded, she said, “She thinks he’s a super nice man.”
He winked at her. “Take a conditional honeymoon with him. He don’t work out, you cut a trail.”
“Damn you. I’m still mad.”
He hugged and kissed her, then stood her back in place. Blue had brought in his horse and was changing saddles. “You’re a wonderful woman, Katy. Ride easy.”
“I won’t forget you.”
“Naw, you’ll find a better one.” He winked at her, then thanked Blue, taking the reins. “See you, Katy.”
She shook her head and turned her back on him to pout. He looked back and shook his head, then rode off.
By dark he was across the Kansas line. When it threatened to rain, with distant lightning flashes in the west, he stopped. A rancher let him sleep in a shed. In the morning the droplets of water on the grass looked like diamonds. He thanked the rancher and his wife and rode on. His plans were to make a large circle to lose the Fort Scott lawmen and get back to the railroad area to see if the Hudson brothers were working on the track crew.
By evening he was in the temporary boomtown. Obviously the saloons had been closed down by order of the U.S. marshals, according to the signs nailed on the doors. The only liquor being sold was slyly purchased from a wagon covered by a tarp. When Slocum edged close, a man with a mustache who was leaning on the side of the rig and busy whittling asked what he needed.
“Got a little whiskey?”
“Two bucks.”
“Kinda steep, ain’t’cha?” Slocum complained.
“You must be new here. Them damn marshals closed us down, and even the railroad couldn’t get us reopened.”
After looking around, he finally slipped the half pint out and took Slocum’s money.
“Thanks,” Slocum said, putting it inside his shirt. “There’s some guys I know working up here. Randle and Ulysses Hudson. You know them?”
“Yeah, they just bought two bottles not a half hour ago and went to Rose’s tent, to get a little, I guess.”
“Well, hell, we can have a real reunion then. Thanks, pard.”
He started across the road leading Spook. He intended to walk right into that cat house and take them two out feetfirst or alive, whichever they chose. He climbed the stairs and heard some gal shout, “Wait! You ain’t paid me!”
Dumb girl. Why, you ought to know to collect beforehand—then he heard another shout and some fellow fell out of a second-story window in the back. There was shouting, cussing, and confusion all over the place. Slocum made the stairs in a two-at-a-time chase and only his quick dodge saved him from being run down by two buxom females who were scantily clothed, headed like a freight train down the stairs.
Gun in his fist, he looked around in the screaming confusion for either of the two men he was searching for. A woman waved him over to her doorway. “You want that sniveling sumbitch?”
Slocum stopped short of the door and let her slip aside. Holding out his wrists, and naked save for some holey underwear about to slip off his narrow hips, stood Ulysses Hudson.
Slocum ran by him and looked out the window to see a ri
der fanning the breeze to get out of there. “Is that Randle got away?”
“I guess, I guess.”
“Get dressed,” Slocum ordered. “And don’t you try one thing.”
“Oh, I won’t. I won’t.”
Well, he damn sure better not try to make one wrong move.
“Howdy, big guy.” The woman came over and put her arm on Slocum’s shoulder. “You and me, baby, need to get in that bed and grind away a little at it.”
“Maybe another time. How did his brother get out of here?” Slocum asked, hardly attracted by her rolls of fat.
“He wasn’t in here. He was next door—”
“He was in my room,” said a brassy redhead with bare breasts like melons and who was posing herself in the doorway. “The woodshed broke his fall. You must be one tough sumbitch to scare them two bastards that bad.”
“They murdered a friend of mine in Texas,” Slocum said, herding his now-dressed prisoner with a head toss in her direction.
“You going to lynch him here?” Red asked.
“Naw, I’m shipping him back to Texas and let him sit there, waiting for his hanging for a while.”
“Hell, we’d all like to see a real necktie party, wouldn’t we, girls?” Red asked the dozen or so women clustered with some of their customers on the upstairs landing.
“No, too easy for him.” Slocum said and marched the man downstairs. “Where’s Randle headed?”
“How the fuck should I know?”
“You know damn good and well where he’s headed. You better tell me, or I’ll put a noose around your neck and make you walk to Vinita. And I might even drag you part of the way.”
“Ogallala.”
“Why up there?”
“Our sister lives up there.”
“What’s her name?”
“Penelope.”
“Penelope what.”
“Granger.”
“Hold up.” Slocum caught his sleeve to stop him. Then he turned to look up at all the painted faces upstairs. “Ladies, thanks for helping me get him.”
“Come back, cowboy, and I’ll give you a ride you won’t ever forget,” some blonde shouted back and then shook her bare boobs at him.
“Me too.” Another promised the same.
He sent Hudson on and smiled. Damn, leaving that Katy was a pure shame when he considered those sloppy ones working upstairs. Whew, their strong perfume was burning his nose. He sneezed twice going out the door behind Hudson.
