by Lou Bradshaw
I felt somewhat better after that, although, I didn’t look forward to what was ahead of us. I guess it was the waiting that had me spooked. The other times it just happened, and we reacted to what happened. This time we had to plan and hope that nothing went haywire with our plans.
Andy rolled in about mid afternoon on the following day. As soon as I saw his wagon, I headed for the freight barn. When I told him that Coleman was in town his eyes lit up, and his face spread into a grin – it was not a friendly smile. I laid it all out for him about Coleman playing poker all night and most of the day. Then I told him that he was probably going to spend the night with that half-breed gal. We agreed to finish out our day and meet at our adobe as soon as we could. He was going to have a talk with Murdock first then have a beer.
I said, “Andy, what if he sees you? He’ll know we’re on to him.”
“Let him see me. He don’t know me from Moses. I’ll just be another mule skinner in for a little dust cutter.”
Andy came to the stable on his way to the shack and told me that Murdock said he don’t know nuthin about nuthin, and he thought he might go fishin. He also said that Coleman was at The Other Saloon. He had spent a couple of hours with one of the white gals and was talkin’ up visitin that half-breed gal after supper. So, we should give him ‘til after sundown to get settled in.
I told Andy we should try to take him alive for jail or hanging. He told me not to be a fool. If I didn’t want in then we were quits. I told him I was with him. It was just a suggestion.
It was a half hour after sunset when we went into The Other Saloon. Andy spoke to the bartender and a few others, but Coleman wasn’t in the room. We just walked on through toward the rear door. There were a few wise cracks from those out front because the rear was the brothel. Andy just waved as we went through the door. On the other side of the door a lady asked us what was our pleasure and waved her arm around the room. There were four other ladies lounging around the room – with hardly any clothes on. I could feel my ears getting hot, and I was sweating.
One of the ladies said, “I’d take that red head, he wouldn’t last long. He’s already got a full head of steam.” then they all laughed.
Andy told the in-charge woman that we’d like the half-breed gal. The lady said that she was in number three, but she was busy with a customer at the moment and probably would be for a while. “Wouldn’t you like to visit with one of these other girls?” she asked.
Andy tipped his hat to the other women and said, “No ma’am, I wanted to introduce her to my partner here, but we’ll be back.” We left through the side door, and I got the notion that Andy had been there before. He seemed to be rather comfortable there.
Once out the door we scooted around the back and came to a long low extension to the building. There were no doors or windows on that side so, we walked to the end and came up the other side. In the front, you could see that it had six doors and windows – two had lights on. It was like six tiny little houses, which were all connected.
Andy whispered, “I’m going to kick the door down and play it by ear. You stand behind me. If I go down cut him in half with that thing.” I said I would and cocked both hammers.
We tiptoed to the third little house; it was one of the two with lights on. Andy listened at the door. He turned to me and whispered, “It sounds like he’s whippin her.” Then he knocked lightly on the door.
A voice from inside yelled, “Yeah – what is it?”
In a high-pitched voice Andy called, “Mister Smith? Are you in there?”
“Yeah, yeah! Go away!” came the voice again.
“Yessir, sorry.” Andy said in his meek high-pitched voice.
He stepped away from the door and counted to ten. Then raised his foot and slammed it into the door, which burst open like it was on springs. Coleman had a leather strap in his hands and was in the act of bringing it down on a lady tied spread eagle on the bed. Both were naked except Coleman had on boots and a black wide brimmed hat. The woman was gagged and when the leather took her, she arched her back and shook all over straining at her bonds. Coleman spun to face the door, his hand going to his hip, and finding nothing there.
Andy’s gun was in his hand, and Coleman stopped short of lunging at him. Andy said, “Coleman, you remember coming to Missouri, and two of your pals got killed by some kids? We done that. Now it’s your turn.” Coleman didn’t answer he just stared beneath that black brow. “I think you’re supposed to be armed when I shoot you. Get your gunbelt and put it on. Be real careful cause there’s a twelve gauge express gun right behind me.”
“Just let me put my pants on.” Coleman growled, “I don’t want to be nekked when those folks come for your body, kid.”
“Nope. You’re goin out the way you came in – nekked.”
“Have it your way.” Coleman shrugged as he carefully buckled the belt and tied the thong. “What now? Do I get an even break?” He started to lift his gun from the holster.
Andy shot him in the head and said, “Nope.”
Blood and brains splattered the wall behind him as he fell back over a chair and to the floor. His feet were in the air propped by the fallen chair, and the back of his head was where the wall and floor met. That black hat covered his face.
I just stared for a few seconds then went to the struggling woman on the bed. The first thing I did was put a blanket over her, and then I started working on the rawhide strips she was tied with. She was tugging so hard they were cutting into her wrists, so I pulled out my Bowie and cut ‘em. As soon as her hands were free, she started pulling that gag out choking and crying. When I got her feet loose, she pulled that blanket over her head, curled into a ball, and lay there sobbing something pitiful. I poured some water in a basin, grabbed a towel and took it to her. When I pulled the blanket from her face, she had the most awful look on her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her mouth was all twisted. I wet the towel and started wiping her face. A hand came up and clutched mine with a vice like grip. We just stayed that way for a few seconds, and then she took charge of the towel. I turned to Andy.
He was going through Coleman’s pockets. “A little over four hundred dollars.” he said. “Here’s two hundred for her trouble.” He handed me some bills and stuffed the rest back into Coleman’s pocket. “She earned it.”
I could hear people coming to the door since right after the shot was fired, but I didn’t pay them any attention. Then I heard Murdock’s voice. “Fair shooting?” he asked. Andy told him it was, and showed him that Coleman was wearing his gun belt and his gun was on the floor. “Don’t often see a buck nekked man wearing his gun. But folks get their pleasures in strange ways I guess.”
He went over and lifted Coleman’s hat, I guess he wanted a positive identification. “Right in the middle of that eye brow. Now how in the…”
“That’s where I was lookin.” was all Andy had to say.
It was starting to get crowded outside the door with folks trying to get a look at the mess. Some people are just sick minded. I yelled at Murdock, “Get those sons of bitches out of here! There’s a pretty beat up lady in here!” It got deathly quiet. I guess no one had ever heard me raise my voice before let alone use that kind of language.
Someone outside said, “Lady? There ain’t no lady in there. Just a half-breed Injun whore.” I re-cocked the twelve gauge and started for the door, which was suddenly empty. The only thing I heard was the sound of running feet. I un-cocked it again.
“Marshal,” I said, “Can we get a doctor for her?” Or one of the womenfolk from town? Or one of the women that work here?”
“The closest doctor is thirty miles away, if she ain’t dying he won’t come, and he couldn’t get here in time if she was.” Murdock said, “As for the town women – wouldn’t come near her. And the other gals here – maybe. I’ll ask.” He left and came back with the news that the girls were all elsewhere. It figured.
I got her some fresh water to drink while I was thinking of wh
at to do. “Andy, would you go to the stable and ask Bob for the loan of a wagon and team?” He left, and while he was gone, I tried talking to the girl, for she was just a girl. She was no older than Andy if that old. I couldn’t get her to respond to anything I said until the undertaker came and took the body away. Murdock left with him.
When he was gone, she said, “Thank you.” Hearing her voice shocked me to the point of not having any reply, so I just brushed it away and smiled. She went on, “You were the only one who cared about me. To the rest I am just another whore – a half-breed whore.
I asked her what her name was and she told me it was Morning in English. I told her that I was Ben Blue, and I was going to make sure that she was taken care of. I asked if she had anything to put on, a dress or something that she could wear in public. She pointed to a small wardrobe. I reached in and took out everything there, I tossed some sort of robe onto the bed and asked her if she could get into it all right. I turned and walked to the door. She called and I turned back to find her sitting on the edge of the bed clutching the robe around her. I took the blanket and started making a bundle of her other things. Combs, brushes, dresses, shoes, it all went into the pack.
When I was finished, I gave her the money that Andy had taken from Coleman’s pants. I said, “This money is for you. It’s what he owed you. Don’t let anyone try to take it away from you. Tell them that you got that money from Hickory Jack, and they would have to deal with him and Ben Blue if they took it. Do you understand?” She nodded and started crying again. Fortunately, Andy came in, and he had the wagon in the alley all ready to go.
I just scooped her up, carried her out to the wagon, and set her in the back. Andy followed with her belongings. He took the reins while I sat on the tailgate. “Where to?” he asked.
“To the church in the Mexican village.” They both shot me looks as if they had misunderstood me. “That’s right, the Mexican church.” We took off.
Chapter 14
When we pulled into the village I knew that there were eyes following us, but I didn’t much care. I told Andy to pull around to the side of the church to Father Paul’s adobe. He found it without any trouble. It wasn’t late, but many of the homes only had a small glow of a lamp or candle. The parsonage had a similar light coming through the open door and small window.
I hopped off the tailgate and walked to the door. Knocking on the open door, I called out, “Father Paul?” and stepped through the opening.
From the other room I heard, “Come in, Benito, come in. I wasn’t expecting visitors this….” He ended as he saw my face. “What is wrong, Benito? There is trouble?”
“There is trouble Padre. We need your help. There is a badly hurt young lady outside and she needs care. She needs the help of a woman and a place to rest up for a few days.”
“Bring her in. I will get someone to help.”
“I must tell you first, Padre, she is a prostitute, and she has been badly treated by an evil man.”
“Then she will be my Maria Magdalena. Bring her in.”
I carried her in, and Andy followed. Father Paul was busy preparing a place for her when Emilio came to the door. I told him we had a hurt girl and would need a woman to comfort her. He left and Father Paul motioned me into the other room. I carried her in and placed her on the bed. She clung to my hand and her eyes were alive with terror. I knew she was in pain by the way she would catch at her breath and choke back cries.
Within a few minutes, Emilio was back with his mama and another woman somewhat older. The two women shooed me out of the room and lit another candle. They called for some water and towels.
I told Father Paul and Emilio that the girl was being beaten to death when we got to her. Emilio asked what had happened to the man beating her, and I told him Andy had shot him and he was dead. It dawned on me that Andy was standing there, and I hadn’t introduced him.
“You are the one they call the Hickory Jack?” Emilio asked. Andy seemed pleased that the Mexicans knew his name.
About an hour, later Emilio’s mother came out and told us that the girl would be all right, but she had many welts and cuts. She had a more than one broken rib, but there was nothing to be done for those. They would be painful, but they would heal on their own. They had applied ointment to the cuts and welts, and there was nothing left to do but wait for her to get better. She also said that the girl was very run down and frightened, which would not help. The older lady would stay the night with her.
I thanked mamacita and she left. Then I told Father Paul that I had some money and I would cover any expenses for her. He brushed my offer away telling me to put something in the poor box if I felt the need.
As Andy and I were preparing to leave, I told the padre that I would be over in the morning to check on her. He asked if this girl was special to me with a slight smile and I said, “No, Padre, she’s just a girl in trouble. I only first saw her a few hours ago, but no one should be treated that way.”
He said, “God bless you, Benito Blue.”
Just after sunup, I was crossing the padre’s threshold. Father Paul told me that the older woman was a midwife, and a general all around good cut and broken bone fixer. I asked how she was this morning, and he said she had developed a fever during the night but not to worry about it. He also said that she was sleeping and I shouldn’t wake her. I told him that I would go to work and be back around noon.
I walked back to the town and to the stable, where Bob waited for me. He wanted to know all about everything and what it was all about. I told him about that day back in Missouri and how we had tracked Coleman to this area. I showed him the wanted poster, and he agreed that it was a justified killing. I also told him that we would probably have to leave soon.
We wanted to get on Frazier’s trail before it got too cold. Furthermore, it was likely that Murdock would be asking us to leave. He thought that would probably be the case. Murdock ran a tight town because he kept anyone who might be trouble moving on.
I had been working for about an hour when Andy came through the front door of the stable. He had been to the eating-house for breakfast rather than fix his own, since I had skipped it completely. “What’s our next move, Benito?’ he said with a grin. “You’re the best plan maker. You seem to have a knack for it. I just react.”
“I’ve been thinkin’ about it all morning.” I told him, “I know it would have been a long shot, but we should have tried to get some idea from Coleman to where Frazier was.”
“Na, the only way you could get anything out of him would be to beat it out of him. That would have taken all night.”
“Then we ought to go out in the open with it.” I told him, “Start showing that wanted poster on Frazier and sniff him out. We’ll just have to go from town to town until we get a scent.” I thought for a moment and went on, “He’ll probably hear about Coleman within the week and either come lookin’ for us or take off. Either way we got it to do.”
We paced around for a little while and I said; “I want to talk to that girl about it.” he looked up at me with a grin and could feel myself getting red. “Seriously, men will say a lot of thing to a woman trying to impress them. Why, remember how you used to talk to Clara Phillips back home.” Then it was his turn to get red.
“It’s worth a try,” he said, “we ain’t got nothin to lose.”
On my dinner break, I walked to the village. My first stop was at the cantina where I picked a bunch of frijoles and a crock of cooked up fixins, which I carried over to the padre’s house. He was pretty happy to get some outside cooking and he spread the table while I went in to talk to Morning.
I asked her if Coleman had said anything about his partner or what their plans were or where they spent most of their time. Her eyes got big and scared. She said that Coleman and his friend were getting ready to pull out for Colorado and he was going to take her with him. He said he would steal her from Murphy and she would be his woman. Then she started to cry again. I tried to soothe her and
asked her what she would like to do now, where would she like to go. She didn’t seem to understand, so I told her we would talk about it later.
When I returned to the main room the padre had prepared a tray of food for the girl, and he took it in while I sat down. When he came back in, he blessed the food and we began to eat. Over the meal, he told me Morning’s story, which he had gotten from her earlier.
It seems that her mother was a white prisoner of the Cheyenne. She had been taken from a wagon train massacre. The white woman was later killed in a Sioux raid. Morning’s father married her off at the age of fourteen summers to an army scout for three ponies and a rifle. The scout, a half-breed himself, moved south into the Texas panhandle, where he wound up broke and a drunk. He began selling his wife’s favors to men for drinks. About six months ago, Murphy, the owner of the Other Saloon took full possession of the girl for two gallons of cheap whiskey. The scout used the whiskey for one last bender and drank himself to death in two days.
“Why, that’s slavery!” I shouted, “That’s what that damned war was about. It’s against the law!” I had heard Elizabeth call it “that damned war” so many times, that it just came natural to me.
“Si.” was all he said.
“Padre, I have to be going back to work, so could you explain to her that she is free, and she can go where she wants. And that she doesn’t belong to anyone. Tell her that I will help her get started. If you have any suggestions, please give them.” I stood up to leave and then asked, “How soon do you think she will be able to travel?”
“Her fever is gone, so she should be able to travel now. However, another two days would be much better for her. She needs to do some healing first.”
I thanked him and walked back to the stable with all sorts of thoughts running through my head.
When I got back to the stable, I was mad plum through. I was mad because Murphy had kept that girl as a slave for six months doing the most degrading things imaginable. He had bought her. He bought her for less than ten dollars worth of rotgut whiskey. The whole idea made me sick to my stomach. Those frijoles and beef were setting mighty heavy. I had just about made up my mind to go over to that saloon and rip Murphy’s heart out when Andy and the marshal came in.
