by Lee Lejeune
‘Someone fired at us from the trees over yonder,’ Elspeth told him.
‘Well, I’ll be damned!’ Gibson said. ‘That must have been those two hombres with bushy moustaches I seed earlier. Why would they do that?’
‘Well, they have their reasons,’ Sunshine said. ‘And whatever they are, they’re not too helpful for us.’
‘I guess they might be still around,’ Gibson said. ‘Let’s take a looksee.’ He jigged his horse over to the margin of the trees where the shots had come from and dismounted. Sunshine followed on foot with the Peacemaker pointing towards where the shots had come from. Gibson was peering about among the trees.
‘Yep, that’s them,’ he said. ‘Lookee here, this is where they were when they fired at you.’
Sunshine studied the ground but noticed nothing unusual.
‘You figure this is it?’ he asked.
‘This is it,’ Gibson insisted. ‘This is where the horses stood and this here is where the two hombres crouched down and took a shot at you.’
When Sunshine looked more closely he could see what he had been blind to before: the imprint of the horses’ hoofs and the slight impression on the ground where the men had crouched.
‘Yes, that’s them,’ Gibson said. ‘Lookee here. This is where the big hombre crouched and this here is where the small hombre crouched.’
‘So there were definitely two,’ Sunshine said.
‘You can bet your life on that,’ Gibson said, ‘and it was those two gun-toting hombres I seed earlier.’ He turned to look at Sunshine. ‘Why would they want to shoot at you like that?’
‘That,’ Sunshine said, ‘is the question. D’you think you could follow their tracks.’
Gibson gave that sly smile of his. ‘Oh, I could track them, Mr Shining, I sure could, but right now I’m more worried about Mrs Bartok and what might have happened to her.’
Then Elspeth spoke. ‘I think we should get back to the farm as soon as possible,’ she said with some urgency.
‘That’s right, Miss Elspeth,’ Gibson said, ‘and I’m riding right back with you to make sure everything’s hunky-dory.’
Sunshine and Elspeth climbed aboard the buckboard and headed back to the farm with Gibson riding slightly ahead. Sunshine wasn’t taking any chances. He sat with the Peacemaker cradled on his lap, looking to left and right.
When they reached the spread Bethany Bartok was nowhere to be seen.
‘D’you think your ma’s OK?’ Gibson asked anxiously.
Sunshine got down from the buckboard with the gun in his hand, and at that moment Bethany Bartok appeared with her buffalo gun.
‘Well, thank the Lord!’ she said. ‘I thought those two varmints had come back to put the frighteners on me.’
‘Have they been here?’ Elspeth asked her.
‘Just left no more than half an hour back.’ She nodded at Gibson. ‘Why, Mr Gibson, how good to see you,’ she declared.
Gibson gave his hillbilly grin. ‘Just came to see you’re all right,’ he said.
‘Well, I’m right relieved to see you,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you come right into the cabin and take a little refreshment?’
They went into the cabin and sat down while Bethany served her home brew. Sunshine saw that her hand was shaking.
‘So those two gents appeared again?’ he said. ‘Did they say anything?’
Bethany took a quick look at Gibson and gave a curt nod.
‘What they said, I don’t quite know how to repeat.’
Elspeth took a deep breath. ‘You mean about Bart?’
Bethany nodded again. ‘They said if I didn’t sign over the farm to them Bart might be put to death.’ Then she bit her lip and tried not to cry, but it was too late. She sat down at the table, put her head in her hands and shook with grief. Elspeth immediately sat beside her and put her arms around her. Though she didn’t actually burst into tears herself, Sunshine could see how difficult she was finding it to hold them back.
He looked at Gibson and saw a whole lot of emotions struggling to get control of his face.
‘W-well now,’ Gibson stammered. ‘Well now, Mrs Bartok, we surely have to get Bart back just as soon as we can.’
Nobody said anything more for a little while. Then when they had all got control of their emotions Elspeth ventured to ask:
‘So what happened after that?’
‘Well, I had to agree, didn’t I?’ said Bethany. She was looking at least ten years older now. ‘As long as Bart is freed it doesn’t matter what happens to me. I’ll just fade right out of the picture.’
She said this without a trace of self-pity.
Gibson shook his head.
‘Did you sign anything, Mrs Bartok?’
‘Well, yes, I signed a letter that they put in front of me. I had to.’
Gibson suddenly transformed himself from a hick hillbilly into a man of action.
‘Now, Mrs Bartok, we have to do something about this, not next week but right now.’ His voice couldn’t have been stronger or more determined.
Sunshine was impressed but also a little apprehensive. What happens when a rawboned farmer like Gibson gets it into his head to take action? A bull in a china shop came to mind.
‘What would be your plan?’ he asked Gibson. A look of grim determination swept across Gibson’s face.
‘We have to find out where those galoots are holding Bart, don’t we?’
‘Have you ever heard of Stinking Flats?’ Sunshine asked him.
‘Stinking Flats?’ Gibson echoed. ‘What’s with Stinking Flats?’
Elspeth intervened. ‘We have a suspicion that that’s where they’re holding Bart.’
Gibson turned the thought over in his mind as though examining it from all angles.
‘Stinking Flats,’ he said again. ‘That’s where a man called Butcher lived.’
‘So you’ve heard of him?’ Sunshine said. Gibson wrinkled his brow.
‘Oh, I knew Butcher. A real weird guy, half out of this world. Disappeared one day with his mule. Nobody knows where he went or why he disappeared.’ He looked at Sunshine. ‘Why d’you think Bart might be held there?’
Sunshine shook his head. ‘It’s just a hunch.’ He told Gibson about Slam Smith’s confession and how the Cutaway brothers had reacted to the suggestion.
Gibson half-closed his eyes. ‘What do you think about this, Mrs Bartok? Did those scumbags say they were coming right back?’
Bethany nodded. ‘They said they’d bring Bart right back to the farm and bring a man of the law, so I could sign the deed and make over the property.’
‘Well now, Mrs Bartok,’ Gibson said, ‘I don’t think it will happen that way.’
Bethany gave him a shrewd look. ‘I’m beginning to think you’re right,’ she said.
‘And it’s starting to make sense to me too,’ Elspeth said. ‘Those two gents aren’t going to expose themselves. They’re a whole lot too cunning for that.’
Sunshine agreed. ‘That’s why they bushwhacked us on the trail today.’
Elspeth told Bethany what had happened earlier.
‘Which means they meant to kill us,’ Sunshine said. ‘So it’s a good job they’re such bad shots.’
‘This land of yours must be mighty valuable,’ Gibson said. ‘I wonder why that would be?’
CHAPTER NINE
‘Whatever you decide to do,’ Gibson said, ‘I have to tell you, Mrs Bartok, that I’m right with you.’
‘Well, you can read the signs, Mr Gibson,’ Sunshine said, ‘so maybe you could lead us to Stinking Flats.’
Gibson wasn’t a handsome man and he didn’t shave very frequently, but now he looked extremely thoughtful.
‘I could lead you there, Mr Shining, but I’m not sure if that’s the best idea.’
‘Then what d’you think we should do?’ Elspeth asked him. Gibson looked concerned.
‘Well, I have a suggestion to make. Those skookums won’t kill your son, Mrs Bartok. That’s ’cause h
e’s a bargaining chip. Whoever’s holding him wants your land real bad.’
Sunshine looked at Gibson with growing respect. The man was far from being the fool he had earlier seemed to be.
‘So what do you suggest?’ he asked. Gibson screwed up his face in concentration.
‘What we do is wait. My guess is they’ll come back soon enough. This is tough for you, I know, but it can’t be helped.’
‘But suppose they do kill my boy?’ Bethany said in alarm.
‘Like I said, as long as he’s a bargaining chip they won’t want to kill him. They’ll just keep him some place safe and we don’t know where that is. So what I think is: you all sit tight and wait while I watch and keep a lookout from that bluff up there with my spyglass. When I see them I can keep a track on them and then we’ll find out where they’re holding your son Bart.’
There was a pause and it was indeed pregnant. Bethany moved her fingers restlessly across the table and Sunshine and Elspeth exchanged worried looks.
‘You mean we just sit here and wait?’ Elspeth asked.
Gibson shrugged. ‘I think that’s the best plan, Miss Elspeth. If we start beating up on those guys it might be bad for Bart, but if we play along with them, they’ll think they’ve won out on us.’
‘What about you?’ Elspeth asked. ‘You can’t just sit up there on the bluff and wait for things to happen. You’ve got your own farm to run.’
To everyone’s surprise Gibson opened his mouth and let out a huge guffaw.
‘You don’t need to worry none about that, Miss Elspeth. I’ve got so many folk on the spread I don’t need to do a danged thing. So I’m sort of put out to grass. That’s how I get to watch the birds and the beasts. I might just as well be watching human folk as well, specially if it helps to free your boy Bart.’
Bethany looked thoughtful and then relieved.
‘Well, thank you, Mr Gibson. That’s real neighbourly of you. I think we have to agree on that.’
Gibson gave a slanting grin. ‘Why don’t you call me Jeremiah?’ he said.
‘Thank you, Jeremiah,’ Bethany said with a smile.
Sunshine felt none too easy at the thought of doing nothing, But there was plenty to do around the farm so he and Elspeth just got stuck into it. Elspeth volunteered to help with the cooking and she proved to be more than adequate. Sunshine spent most of his time out on the farm, looking after the stock and tending the horses. Every day he rode Chingalong round the perimeter of the farm, which was more extensive than he had expected.
‘Well now, Chingalong boy, d’you think we have a hope of winning this one?’
Chingalong tossed his head.
‘I’m inclined to agree with you, hoss,’ Sunshine said. He looked up at the bluff where he guessed Jeremiah Gibson was perched and watching him through his spyglass.
Two days passed and all three of them were getting restless and irritable. Elspeth and her mother were almost at one another’s throats. Then on the third morning as they were sitting at breakfast they heard the sound of horses approaching and the two moustachioed hombres appeared at the door.
Keep yourself still, Sunshine thought to himself, and look meek.
Elspeth opened the door.
‘Good morning, gentlemen,’ she said. Her voice sounded almost friendly.
Bethany was busy at the stove. When she turned Sunshine saw that she was trembling, either with fear or with anger, or possibly both.
‘Why don’t you sit down, gentlemen?’ Elspeth said.
‘I think we’ll just stand if you don’t mind,’ the smaller of the men said without the flicker of a smile. The heavier man grinned and nodded.
‘Have you thought about your promise, Mrs Bartok?’
Bethany stared at him defiantly. ‘I’ve been thinking about it all the time. Where’s my son?’
The smaller man spoke again. ‘Your son is quite safe, Mrs Bartok.’
‘So far,’ added the heavier man grimly.
Sunshine stiffened but said nothing. He thought of the Colt revolver near at hand and his fingers twitched in anticipation. Bethany was still staring at the two men.
‘When will you bring my son back to me safely?’ she demanded.
‘Well, Mrs Bartok,’ the lighter hombre said, ‘we have a small difficulty here.’
‘What sort of difficulty?’ she asked. The lighter man held up a paper.
‘You see, Mrs Bartok, this paper you signed might not be properly legal.’
‘So, what are you going to do about that?’ Elspeth asked him.
The two men exchanged glances.
‘What we’re gonna do,’ the lighter man said, ‘is we’re gonna bring our lawyer with a properly authorized document for you to sign and then you can have your son back.’
‘When will that be?’ Bethany asked him. The big man was looking at Sunshine.
‘We can’t say exactly when,’ he said, ‘but it will be real soon.’
The two men edged towards the door.
‘Think about it, Mrs Bartok, think about it,’ the lighter man said.
They watched the two men ride away.
‘I’d like to track down on those guys.’ Sunshine said.
‘That’s just what they’ll expect,’ Elspeth warned, ‘and they won’t think twice about shooting you down.’
‘I wonder if Jeremiah Gibson is watching up there?’ Bethany speculated. Sunshine saw that she was close to tears again.
‘Well, we won’t know that for a while,’ Elspeth said, ‘but my guess is he will be.’
It had been a strange feeling, talking to those men who only a day or two earlier had tried to kill them.
They waited so long it was almost sunset. Then Jeremiah Gibson rode up to the cabin and dismounted. He was wearing leather chaps and he had a Winchester across his saddle; he looked ready for whatever the world might throw at him. He walked right into the cabin and nodded grimly.
‘Well now, Mrs Bartok, I seen those hombres like I said. I think I know where they’re headed and it ain’t Stinking Flats.’
‘You mean you know where they’re holding Bart?’ Bethany said. He gave a secretive grin.
‘I believe I do, Mrs Bartok, I believe I do.’
It was time to discuss tactics. The question was, who would follow the trail and who would stay to look after the farm?
‘I want to go,’ Bethany declared. ‘This has gone on long enough and I want to rescue my boy.’
‘Well, that’s as maybe,’ Jeremiah Gibson declared, ‘but we have to use our wits here, Mrs Bartok.’
‘Well, I can bring my buffalo gun,’ she said aggressively, ‘and smoke them out.’
‘Now steady on, Mrs Bartok!’ Gibson cautioned. ‘We can’t just go blasting our way in there if we want to bring back your boy alive. What we have to do is use our brain matter. And anyways, you’ve got the farm to look after.’ He looked at Elspeth. ‘You too, Miss Elspeth. The best thing you can do is stay here and help your ma.’
Then he switched to Sunshine. ‘And you, Mr Shining. I’m sure you’d like to be in on this. But don’t worry none ’cause I have a few favours I can call on. So it won’t be just us; it will be one or two of the boys. They’ll be right glad to help out.’
He looked around to see how the others were responding. ‘So I suggest you leave me to round them up and we’ll hit the trail just after sunup tomorrow morning.’
So it was agreed, though Elspeth and Bethany looked really down-mouthed, since they had wanted to be on the trail with the menfolk.
Soon after sunup next morning Jeremiah Gibson appeared with three of his buddies: Jordan Rivers, Slim Savage and Jon Jenson. All were homesteaders and all were tooled up with various weapons: shotguns, old-time cap-and-ball pistols, and one prewar pistol of uncertain vintage.
‘These boys are here to help, Mrs Bartok,’ Jeremiah Gibson explained. Elspeth looked at Sunshine and shook her head.
‘Take care of yourself,’ she said and gave him a quick kiss on the
cheek. The so-called ‘boys’ all raised their eyebrows knowingly.
‘Now, boys,’ Jeremiah Gibson said when Sunshine had appeared, ready and mounted up on Chingalong, ‘you know the rules. Nobody shoots off their guns unless I say so – and I hope we don’t have to – but these skookums don’t give a damn for anyone, so be ready for whatever might happen.’
‘Are the Cutaways involved in this?’ Jordan Rivers piped up.
Jeremiah Gibson didn’t know what to say. He looked at Sunshine.
‘We don’t know the answer to that, Mr Rivers. The only thing we’re interested in is freeing Brad Bartok and bringing him home safe.’
‘That’s right,’ Jeremiah Gibson agreed. ‘So what we do is ride along without making too much jingle-jangle, ’cause we don’t want to attract unnecessary attention. I’ll lead the way.’
They set off down the trail with Gibson in the lead. Sunshine was content to bring up the rear on Chingalong, who seemed happy to tail the other horses. After quite a short ride along the marked trail Gibson held up one arm and they all came to a halt.
‘Now, boys,’ he said quietly, ‘this is where we branch off the trail.’ He pointed away into the aspens. ‘This is where those skookums took off from the trail yesterday and I followed them.’
‘You know where they were headed, Jeremiah?’ Jordan Rivers asked.
‘I have a strong feeling about that, Jordan,’ Gibson replied.
‘Couldn’t be the Stanley Sheffield place, could it?’ Rivers wondered.
Gibson tilted his head to one side. ‘It could be, but then again it might not,’ he said.
‘Well, no one lives there any more,’ Jordan said, ‘not since Sheffield went bust and blew out his own brains. My guess is the Cutaway boys are using it to store cattle feed.’
Sunshine had keen ears and had been listening intently. Suddenly he said:
‘Listen, I can hear riders coming!’
Jeremiah Gibson leaned down to get his ear closer to the ground.
‘You’re damn right, boy. Get your horses into that stand of trees and keep them dead quiet.’
The men lost no time in getting themselves off the trail and into the trees, where they waited like statues to see who was passing on the trail.
