Will Tanner

by William W. Johnstone

  It was almost more than the sullen woman could grasp. After having been bullied and abused by the white man and his evil sons for so long, it was difficult for her to believe that she should have such good fortune. “You are a good man, Will Tanner. I will share this with you.”

  “Oh no, ma’am,” Will said. “This all belongs to you. I just wanna see you settled proper in a new village. If you wanna share with the Choctaws, that would go a long way toward welcomin’ you to live with ’em. You don’t owe me anything.” Reconsidering then, he said, “Maybe some of those .44 cartridges Lem has on the shelf—and some coffee beans. That’s all I ever need—coffee and cartridges.” She smiled at him then. It was the first time she could remember having smiled for any reason. “Speakin’ of coffee, I ain’t had any today,” he said. “And I could use some right now. If you’ll fix us some, I’ll drag that ugly carcass off back of the barn and dig a hole for it. All right?”

  “All right,” she answered with a happy smile, spun on her heel, and hurried toward the house, a woman set free from a life of hell.

  He hesitated long enough to watch her hurry to the kitchen door, thinking that his offer to help was going to delay his pursuit of Eli. But Eli was only a day ahead of him, according to what Minnie had told him. In all likelihood, he would still be holed up in that cave for a long while. There was time to help Minnie move her wealth to Switchback Creek, and right at the moment, that seemed the more important.

  * * *

  It was close to dark by the time Will and Minnie had loaded Lem’s wagon with as much as it would hold, and too late to start out for Switchback Creek. Even with the wagon piled high with supplies, it was still far short of the possessions to be transported to the Choctaw village. There were still some supplies left in the store, as well as a good stove and some furniture. To complete the move, several more trips with the wagon would be required, a fact that could not help but concern Will with his urgency to go after Eli. We’ll just have to wait and see how it turns out, he thought as he addressed the two barrels of whiskey he found in a small storeroom in the back of the store. There were some quart jars on a shelf above the barrels, so Will, being a practical man, filled one of them with the illegal whiskey. For medicinal purposes, he told himself, and took the jar out to his packhorse. Then he pushed both barrels over to let the contents flow out to drain through the cracks of the storeroom floor. Minnie cooked and they stayed there overnight, with Will opting to sleep in the barn with his horses.

  The next morning their short journey to the small gathering of houses on Switchback Creek brought them to a village of curious, but compassionate Choctaws, who graciously accepted the lone Chickasaw woman into their community. When Minnie expressed a desire to share much of the wealth she brought, the welcoming turned into a real celebration and a suggestion that she should move into Walking Crow’s vacant cabin. Will’s concerns were immediately lessened when Leon Coyote Killer volunteered to drive Minnie’s wagon back with her to get the rest of her belongings. There was no longer any reason for him to remain; he could leave knowing that she had been well received, and there was nothing more he could do for her.

  When she saw him step up into the saddle, preparing to ride out, Minnie hurried to stand at his stirrup. “I owe you much,” she declared sincerely.

  “Not as much as I owe you,” he reminded her. “You saved my life in that barn when I got careless.” He knew what she meant, however, and paused to gaze at the people of the small community gathered to make her feel welcome. “You earned all this. I think you’ll be happy here.”

  She stepped back away from his horse. “You be careful, Will Tanner. Eli is a bad man.”

  “I will,” he said, then turned Buster’s head to the northeast and set out for the Sans Bois Mountains, some ninety miles away.

  CHAPTER 17

  With only about half of the day left before darkness set in, Will rode the twenty miles to Muddy Boggy Creek. He made his camp for the night about a mile below Jim Little Eagle’s cabin. He planned to make the rest of the trip in two days, so as not to make it hard on his horses. He wanted them fresh when he got to Perley Gates’s cabin. In the saddle early the next morning, he camped that night at the same campsite below the Jack Fork Mountains that he had used before, leaving him about thirty-five miles from Perley’s cabin, and a fairly easy day’s ride remaining. As he had anticipated, he made the trip well before dark.

  “Howdy, Will!” Perley called out from a stand of pines on one side of the ravine that served as a pass into his camp. Then he emerged from the pines and descended to the bottom of the ravine.

  “Perley,” Will acknowledged in surprise, having not seen his elflike friend hidden in the trees until then. “What are you hidin’ up there in the trees for?”

  “Can’t never be too careful,” Perley said. “I spotted you from the top of the ridge when you was a good piece off. I thought it looked like you, ’specially since you was ridin’ that buckskin. But my eyes ain’t as good as they used to be, so I decided to come on back here and wait to see if whoever it was came to my place. I’m tickled it was you, ’cause I chased a deer back up that mountain near the outlaws’ cave the other day and that damn black Morgan was back in the corral.”

  It was the news that Will wanted to hear. “Well, that answers the first question I was fixin’ to ask you. Is he still there?”

  “Damned if I know,” Perley replied. “I’ve been mighty careful not to go anywhere close to that cave ever since, but I heard a couple of rifle shots from over that way yesterday. I figured he musta shot a deer or somethin’.” He looked at Will and shook his head. “I reckon you’re fixin’ to go after him.”

  “Yeah, I reckon so,” Will said. “That’s what I came here to do. I thought if you don’t mind, I’d leave my packhorse here with you, so I don’t have to fool with him.”

  “I don’t reckon I have to tell you to be mighty careful,” Perley said, a look of earnest concern upon his face. “That man’s about as mean a snake as ever was, and he’s holed up in a place that’s damn near impossible to sneak up on. You saw that for yourself that day we climbed up there.”

  Will thought about Perley’s speculation that Eli had probably killed a deer the day before. If true, it meant that Eli had no need to come out of the cave for quite a while. That was bad news, for he had counted on Eli’s need for food as one opportunity to catch him out of his stronghold. Minnie Three Toes had told him that Eli only had food for a day or two when he left the store. Will realized that he was going to have to go up to that stone cave after Eli, and that might take some doing. He would have to think the problem over. In the meantime, he would take care of his horses.

  While Will turned his horses out to graze with Perley’s mule, Perley put some strips of smoked venison over a fire to roast. “Might as well eat some supper,” he said. “You ain’t fixin’ to do nothin’ till mornin’, I expect.”

  “I s’pose not,” Will said, still deep in thought about the best way to flush Eli out of his hole. He really needed someone to cover one entrance to that cave while he covered the other, but he hesitated to enlist Perley to help him. He didn’t want to put the little man in harm’s way. And it was blatantly obvious that Perley possessed a healthy fear of Eli. Finally a plan occurred to him that would expose Perley to very little danger. Deciding it worth a shot, Will asked, “How’d you like to be a deputy marshal for a little while?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, Will,” Perley said hesitantly. “I ain’t as young as I used to be, and even when I was, I never had no desire to get in a gunfight with a gunman like Eli Stark.”

  “What if you didn’t have to get in the way of any shootin’—just leave that to me?” Will went on then to explain what he had in mind, and what part Perley would play.

  Perley heard him out, thought it over for a moment, then declared, “Hell, I reckon I could do that much.”

  “Fine,” Will said. “Now, do you think you could help me find that cave in the dark?�
�� Perley said he could. “Good. Then we might as well eat some supper and wait till it gets dark.”

  * * *

  “I’ll go the rest of the way by myself,” Will whispered to Perley. He could see the natural stone corral in the darkness ahead, but it was too dark to tell if the black Morgan Eli rode was inside. He left Perley in the trees and made his way silently toward the corral, working his way cautiously around the rock walls until coming to an opening with two tree limbs across it for a gate. Only then did he see the dark horse standing in the opposite corner. The horse whinnied softly and walked over to the gate. Will dropped his hand on the handle of his Colt and peered up toward the mouth of the cave. But there was no response to the horse’s whinny from up above him.

  The Morgan eagerly accepted the handful of grain that Will offered while he stroked the horse’s neck. Eli had left the bridle on, which Will appreciated, so when the horse finished the grains, Will removed the two tree limbs and led the Morgan out of the corral. He walked the horse slowly back toward the stand of trees where Perley waited, half expecting a rifle shot from the cave at any second. With that thought in mind, he made sure he kept the horse close behind him.

  “I swear,” Perley said softly, “he’s a big ol’ horse, ain’t he? I never got a chance to see him up close before.”

  “I expect so, compared to your mule,” Will said. They walked the Morgan back down the mountain and turned it out with Will’s horses and Perley’s mule. As a precaution, Will hobbled the horse, in case it took a notion to return home. “Now, you might wanna get a couple hours’ sleep. We’ve gotta be back up there at daylight.”

  There was never any real thought of going to sleep by either man, since it was so important to be in position when the sun came up. So when the first gray light began to penetrate the branches of the oak trees bordering Perley’s cabin, they were already on their way back up the mountain, leading Eli’s horse. Will decided they’d need the horse to carry the saddle and anything else Eli had up there. He explained to Perley that he had gone to the trouble to steal the horse the night before because of the danger of being caught in the act in the morning light.

  They picked a spot for Perley behind a huge boulder where he could see the mouth of the cave while being well protected, and tied the Morgan in the woods behind him. Before leaving him, Will asked him, “You remember what you’re supposed to say?” Perley repeated the words he had been instructed to say. “Good,” Will said. “And if he comes down outta the mouth of that cave, you run like hell.”

  “You don’t have to tell me that,” Perley said. “My short little legs know to do that automatically.” He had one question before Will left him. “I can’t understand why you don’t just stay here, yourself, and shoot the son of a bitch when he comes outta the mouth of that cave.”

  “Like I told you last night, I’m mighty tempted to do that, but I told Dan Stone I’d try to bring him back alive for trial. Besides, I like the idea of stretchin’ his neck instead of givin’ him a quick out with a bullet.” He left then to hurry up behind the cave, where the back door was located.

  * * *

  The sun had lifted fairly high in the valley before the morning light was enough to shine in the mouth of the stone fortress where Eli slept. Rousing himself from his bedroll, he went to the spring that flowed through the cave to drink and relieve himself. That done, he decided to take a look at his horse before reviving his fire. “Gonna have to go cut some more firewood,” he mumbled to himself as he went to the mouth of the cave.

  “What the . . . ?” he exclaimed when he looked down at the corral to discover his horse missing. “How did that horse get outta . . . ?” he started again, but stopped when he saw on the ground the two limbs that served as a gate. Furious that someone had stolen his horse, he was startled in the next instant when he heard the command from below.

  “Throw out your weapons and come on outta there. You’re under arrest,” Perley shouted in as official-like voice as he could effect. “This is Deputy Marshal Perley Gates,” he added as an afterthought, then grinned as he admired the sound of it.

  Staggered, Eli backed quickly away from the mouth of the cave, unable to think at once. Then it came to him—they had sent other marshals from Fort Smith to help Tanner! Already they had taken his horse—he was on foot! Maybe they don’t know about the back door, he thought. I’ve got to get out of here! He snatched up his weapons and ran stumbling in his haste up the length of the long cave to the small passageway in the back. Once he was clear of the opening, he crawled up the side of the boulder that guarded it and dropped to the rocky path beyond. At the same instant, Will rose up from a crevice in the rocks, his Winchester leveled at the startled outlaw. “Drop the rifle,” Will commanded.

  Caught in a panic of confusion, Eli hesitated for a split second, trying to make up his mind before suddenly raising his rifle. Anticipating the move, Will fired before Eli could level his rifle. The shot caught Eli in his right thigh, causing him to spin in pain, almost dropping his weapon. “Drop it, or the next round goes in your gut,” Will demanded as he cranked another cartridge in the chamber. Knowing he had no chance, Eli let his rifle drop to the ground and sat down heavily on a boulder, wincing in pain. Will moved quickly to pick up the discarded weapon, while keeping Eli covered with his rifle. Then he put the rifle to his shoulder and took dead aim at Eli’s head. “All right,” he said, “now unbuckle that gun belt and let it drop.” Left with little choice, as he stared at the muzzle of the Winchester, Eli unbuckled his belt and dropped the two pistols on the ground. With the barrel of his rifle, Will motioned toward the narrow path he had climbed up. “Start walkin’ down that path.”

  “I can’t walk,” Eli complained. “You shot me in the leg.”

  “You can walk,” Will said. “’Cause if you can’t, I reckon I’ll have to execute you right here.” He raised the rifle again.

  “All right! All right!” Eli blurted. “I’ll walk!” He grunted with the pain as he strained to get on his feet. Wincing and cursing with each step, he limped down the path that circled around behind the cave.

  “Come on out, Perley,” Will called out when they were back by the corral. Perley came out of the trees, leading Eli’s horse.

  “You!” Eli exclaimed. “You little rat. You ain’t no deputy.”

  “The hell I ain’t,” Perley crowed. “I’m Deputy Perley Gates, at least, this mornin’ I am. Ain’t that right, Will?”

  “That’s a fact,” Will said. He directed Eli to a rock to sit on. “I need to get his saddle and anything else that’s useful outta the cave. You wanna climb up there and throw it down, or would you rather stay here and keep an eye on Eli?”

  Perley didn’t hesitate. “I’ll go up and get the saddle.”

  * * *

  Since it was still early in the morning, Will didn’t waste much time when they got back to Perley’s camp, preparing to start out for Fort Smith as soon as his horses were saddled and packed. Eli, with his wrists tied together, sat with his back against a tree, his face a sullen mask. “You’ve gotta get me to a doctor to treat this wound,” he complained. “I can’t ride all the way to Fort Smith with my leg bleedin’ like this.”

  Will was not convinced Eli was hurt as bad as he purported. The slug had obviously struck the muscle of his leg and had not broken the bone. It was his opinion that, although in some pain, Eli should be able to walk on it. But he was willing to offer him some compassion. He asked Perley for something to bandage Eli’s leg with, and Perley came up with a piece from a worn-out shirt. “Hold your hands straight up over your head, and I’ll untie your hands,” Will said to Eli.

  “I can’t,” Eli claimed. “This wound you put in my shoulder is too tender to raise that arm.”

  “Then I reckon you’ll just have to go without a bandage on that leg,” Will said, suspecting his prisoner of trying to avoid holding his arms up over his head. In that awkward position, it would be difficult to make any sudden moves, if he was still in
clined.

  “All right,” Eli said, “I’ll try, but it’s gonna hurt like hell.” He scowled at Perley, who grinned at him, amused by his pitiful performance. Eli raised his hands straight up and held them there while Will untied them.

  “There you go,” Will said, and dropped the strip of cloth in Eli’s lap. “You can tie that around your leg, then we’ll get you in the saddle.” He watched him closely while talking to Perley. “You’ve been a lotta help, Perley. I appreciate it. It made my job a lot easier, so I’m thinkin’ I owe you something.”

  “Ah, you don’t owe me nothin’,” Perley said. “I done it for all that coffee you gave me.”

  “That ain’t hardly enough,” Will said. “You stuck your neck out pretty far. How would you feel about tradin’ that mule of yours for a fine Morgan geldin’?”

  “Whoa! Wait a minute,” Eli exclaimed. “You can’t do that. That’s my horse.”

  “You ain’t gonna need it where you’re goin’,” Will said, then turned back to Perley. “What about it, Perley? Have you got a special attachment to that mule you’ve been ridin’?”

  “Hell, no,” Perley replied at once. “Sam’s a good mule, but that sounds like a dandy trade to me. I expect if he had any say about it, he’d be proud to tote Eli Stark to the gallows.”

  “Done then,” Will said. “Go get him, and we’ll throw the saddle on him.” He glanced over at a seething Eli, tying a knot in the bandage. “When you’re done with that, get on your feet.”

  Eli made a show of pulling himself to his feet with help from the trunk of the tree he had been sitting against. Standing hunched slightly over as if it pained him severely just to be on his feet, he watched while Perley led his mule up to them. “I was thinkin’,” Perley said. “That’s a fine-lookin’ saddle that son of a bitch was settin’ on. Any chance it goes with the horse?”