Lawdog: The Life and Times of Hayden Tilden

by J. Lee Butts

  Billy Bird turned out to be the closest thing to a prophet I’ve ever known. Next day, Magruder’s crew did exactly what he said they’d do. Before we knew it, we were headed toward the Wild Horse River country and the Arbuckle Mountains. Old Bear said he could smell them.

  He’d stopped to read sign when he scratched his chin and said, “Elizabeth safe. No sign of struggle. No time to cause her harm. Running for their lives now. We catch ’um, they’ll use her for trade.”

  If I slept during that chase, don’t remember it. Stared at the stars and promised each of them Magruder wouldn’t slip through my fingers. Planned his fate a thousand different ways. If it’s a sin to wish such things, I’ll surely burn in hell for the deaths I plotted for him.

  Tracking got tougher on the Wild Horse. Thicker brush and rocky ground made the going slow. We had to lead the horses and scout every cut we went through for ambush. No one but Old Bear and Caesar could’ve stayed on Magruder’s bunch the way they did. Every time I thought we’d come to a dead end and the outlaw had managed to slip away again, they found his trail, and my failing spirits returned.

  Two days after we turned west along the Wild Horse, Billy and I came up on Old Bear seated on a rock overlooking a canyon carved into the earth by the river. He motioned for us to climb down and stay quiet.

  He leaned toward me when I kneeled beside him. “You see it?” He pointed to a spot in the side of the riverbank.

  I tried. Couldn’t locate anything but a rocky ledge that jutted out over the river where time and water had cut through it and left half an arch that once stretched completely across the lazy stream.

  “Look hard—at bottom of rocks. Near gravel bar.”

  A wisp of smoke I’d never have discerned if he hadn’t pointed it out drifted along the sandy bank and rose silently into the trees.

  “Where’s it coming from?” I asked.

  “Cave—at base of broken bridge. Can’t see from here. But Elizabeth’s down there, Hayden.” He pointed to a spot where the arch curved into the ground. Nothing but the smoke moved. The heavy air dropped over us like an unwanted blanket, and the eerie quiet left me more anxious and unsettled than at any time since the chase started.

  “We hide on this side of river across from cave’s mouth. See scrub brush. Good place—river very shallow. Wait till dark then go down.”

  “What’re we gonna do when we get there?” Billy sounded like a man who’d run completely out of patience.

  Old Bear reached for my anxious partner and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “We wait, my hot young friend. We wait, till we have a chance.”

  Billy squirmed around so we could both see him. “We’re gonna have to take whatever gets throwed our way. If any of them sons of bitches comes out of there, I say we kill ’em right on the spot. Maybe they’ll all show themselves at the same time. If they do, I want Magruder.”

  I couldn’t believe what he’d suggested. “We can’t just shoot whoever shows his face. Those left just might kill Elizabeth.”

  Old Bear smiled. “Not to worry, Hayden. They not kill Elizabeth. Magruder smarter than that.”

  “Maybe so. But that leaves the other two, and I don’t see how any of us can predict what they might do.” I tried to think of a way we could snatch up each man as he came outside, but it just didn’t work. Billy knew his outlaws. We’d have to kill them any way we could. One at a time, all in a bunch, whatever chance sent us.

  That night, I must’ve drifted off sitting there behind that patch of scrub. I had the nightmare about the snake for the very first time. When I snapped awake, Billy had his nose right next to mine and held his fingers over my mouth. The sun had just got high enough to throw some light into the canyon. Across the river, two men stomped back and forth along the gravel bank. They shouted and gestured at one another. The tallest wore a pair of silver-plated pistols.

  “That’s Lamorette,” Billy whispered. “The short one’s Crouch Albrect.”

  “My God, Billy. From here we could kill them with rocks.”

  He pulled his guns. “I’ll take Lamorette. Albrect’s yours. If either man makes a move, kill ’em both.”

  Slowly came to my knees and leveled the Winchester on the outlaw. The tip of my front sight blotted out his head. All I had to do was squeeze the trigger. I hesitated, but my partner didn’t.

  Billy stood. His pistols flashed up and swept the two killers into range. “Vander Lamorette!” he yelled. “I have a warrant for your arrest. Throw down your weapons and give us Elizabeth Tilden.”

  The outlaw’s pipe dropped from his lips as his hands darted toward his Schofields. Billy blasted the man out of his boots. He thumbed off six shots faster than I believed possible. Lamorette almost blew his own foot off with his first effort. As he crumpled to his knees, his second shot punched a hole in the clouds twisting above him.

  The sound boomed down the canyon. In a panic, Albrect turned, ran for the safety of the cave, and sprayed lead in every direction as he lurched in the gravel. Rock fragments splintered and fell around us. Billy ripped off another round of shots that chased the outlaw toward the sheltering entrance.

  Albrect yelled something just as he got to the opening. My first bullet caught him. He grabbed his left hip and went down, but struggled to his feet and staggered forward as my second shot hit him between the shoulder blades. His pistol fired into the ground as he fell, and once more when he rolled onto his back.

  After about a minute, the silence that followed crept up my spine and rubbed my nerves so raw I wanted to pull up the biggest rocks in the river and throw them at the cave.

  “My God, Billy, if they’ve killed Elizabeth, I’m not sure I’ll be able to live with it.”

  “She’s safe, Hayden. Even men as stupid as these wouldn’t do anything to her with us so hard on their tails.”

  His voice still hung in the air when I heard her call to me. “Hayden, is that you? Hayden! He’s dead! I’m coming out. Don’t shoot anymore.”

  The three of us jumped into the shallow water at the same time and had barely reached the far side of the lazy stream when she toppled into my arms. I must’ve kissed her a thousand times before I stopped long enough to run my hands along her arms, back, and neck—to make certain she wasn’t harmed. I checked the joint of every finger. I noticed she had a bruise over her right eye and a dark circle under it, but, other than that, she seemed in good shape.

  “You’re sure they didn’t harm you?”

  She nodded.

  I pulled her to a safe spot on the right side of the entrance. “Where is he, Elizabeth?”

  She looked surprised, like I should already know the answer. “Gone. He left yesterday morning.” The words hit me like a boulder dropped from the top of the broken bridge above us. My knees went weak. She grabbed my shirt to stop me from falling. It took every ounce of strength I had left to keep from running into the woods and screaming until all the leaves on the trees fell and buried me alive.

  When the shock of my continued failure to rid the world of Saginaw Bob finally wore off, we searched his hideout. The L-shaped cavern burrowed into the stone for almost thirty yards, before turning to the right for another fifty or so. Bits and pieces of furniture stood in the first open area. Three horses were staked in the deepest corner of the second room. It was dry, comfortable, and, from all appearances, had seen plenty of use in the past. In some respects, Magruder’s hideaway was nicer than many cabins in the Nations.

  Elizabeth took a wide path around Crouch Albrect, wouldn’t go near the man. “Filthy beast, that one,” she said. “I was more afraid of him than any of the others. They made me stay back near the horses. Good thing, I guess. Some of your bullets hit this back wall.” She waved at broken spots in the dark rock.

  Billy brought our animals inside and started a fire for coffee. We were all exhausted. I couldn’t imagine where I’d have to go next to find Magruder once I got Elizabeth back home.

  That night as I lay curled around her,
she wept and whispered the story of the ordeal I felt I’d brought on her. “They stormed into Papa’s. Shot him right in front of Mrs. Hull and me. The man dressed in black grabbed me by the front of my dress and hit me between the eyes. Everything’s pretty confused for a time. Next thing I remember, I woke up on this side of the Poteau. He held me in front of him on that big black horse of his, Satan. When I came around enough to fend for myself, he threw me on an extra animal. I knew things were desperate when I heard the others call him the Preacher. And once, when we stopped, that nasty Albrect said if Magruder ever turned his back he’d ‘teach me a little dance he knew.’” She sighed and pulled my arms tighter around her.

  “You don’t have to talk about it, Elizabeth.”

  Her hand came up to my cheek. “Yes, I do. For the first few days I had trouble hearing. My ears rang constantly, and my eye almost swelled shut. My view of the world looked like the reflection from an old mirror.”

  “Did he say anything to you?”

  “He told me if I screamed, or ran, or tried to talk with anyone we might meet along the way, or did anything to betray them, he would let Pike and Albrect have me.”

  When I heard that, the world behind my eyes went red, and I wanted to storm hell and bite the devil’s horns off.

  “Hayden, you’re squeezing me too hard. I can barely breathe.”

  I tried again to get her to understand she didn’t have to relive the whole thing. Looking back on it now, I’m not sure if I said it for her sake or mine. Didn’t matter. She plunged on.

  “Yes, I have to get it all out now, while I can remember everything. I don’t ever want to forget what they said or did. And I don’t ever want to face such a thing again.” She turned over and faced me. “Magruder told the others if they touched me, or molested me in any way, the dead captain at Minco Springs would be nothing compared to the way he’d make them suffer. What did he mean by that?”

  “It doesn’t matter right now. I’ll tell you all about it another time.”

  Light from the fire flickered across her face. She seemed confused for a few seconds then started again. “We rode so long, Hayden. One day, when we’d stopped to rest the horses, Magruder and the one he called Pike got into an argument. The longer they went at each other the louder and more violent they got. For a few seconds the prospect that they’d kill each other looked pretty good. But I knew if that happened, I’d be left alone with Albrect, and only God knew what he might do.”

  She sat up and poured herself a cup of water before going on. “Pike kept screaming about how no one in his right mind would go back and confront you and the other marshals. Said he wouldn’t do it. Told Magruder if he wanted you dead so bad, he should be the one to go back and do the killing. Magruder’s stare made my blood run like ice water. He screeched and slobbered like a madman. Then screamed about how someone had to go back and slow the posse down, and Pike was it. He said, ‘Go back now, or deal with me here. If you desert me, or run off, I’ll find you and kill you myself. Now, take your choice, but make up your mind to it.’”

  “What were Lamorette and Albrect doing during all this?”

  “They kept their mouths shut and stayed out of the way. Pike looked to them for some help, but they just stared at the ground. Eventually he said something like, ‘I’ve done some awful things in my life, Bob, but I’ve never shot anyone in the back from behind a rock.’ Magruder cackled like one of Satan’s imps and started yelling again. He told Lamorette if he was squeamish about it, he could do it in the open. Fight you lawdogs toe to toe with a hatchet, for all he cared, but slow the posse down long enough for the rest of us to get to his cave on the Wild Horse. Magruder seemed to believe not even the best trackers alive could find his hiding place. Pike left right after that. When he rode past me, he looked like a man who knew he’d be dead soon.”

  She rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands, pulled her knees up, and hugged them. “Then the quiet one, Lamorette, rapped his pipe on the butt of one those big pistols. I can close my eyes and remember almost every word he said. ‘What we gonna do with the woman if Tilden don’t come or if he’s behind us and Tollman don’t manage to kill ’im?’ Then he talked about how they’d been on a downhill slide ever since the mess they left at Minco Springs. Now, Magruder’d sent Tollman back alone to stop a bunch of hard cases none of them would try to face down alone on the best day they ever had. Then he said, ‘But I’ll tell you one thing, if you try to pull this same trick on me, I’ll drill you faster’n you can read scripture from that Bible you stole.’ Almost scared me to death.”

  She stopped for a few seconds and rolled back into my arms. “It got so quiet. I just knew Magruder would kill him. But he just laughed and said, ‘My glorious God! I wish Azel, Benny, and Cecil were still alive.’ Started ranting about nothing going right since those boys got rubbed out. He told Vander to get on his horse and get moving, or he just might get a chance to make good on his threat. And he pulled his coat away from his pistols like he intended to fight.”

  She fiddled with the buttons on my bib-front shirt. “Lamorette just snickered and walked away. Few minutes later, we were running again. Pike never came back. Then yesterday, we’d barely settled here when Magruder tried to do exactly what Lamorette told him not to. They argued and Magruder got to screaming again and said he guessed any job worth doing, and being done right, he’d have to do himself. He told them to keep me safe or he’d kill ’em both. Then he rode away.”

  “That was the last you saw of him?”

  “Yes, and this morning, when Lamorette and Albrect realized he’d probably left them high and dry, they were fit to be tied. They argued about what to do for hours. Then went stomping out toward the river. That’s when the shooting started.” All the tension suddenly went out of her body. “I knew it was you.” She closed her eyes. “I never doubted you’d come for me. My goodness, Hayden, I’m so tired.” In less than a minute she was sound asleep. Don’t think Gabriel’s announcement of the Second Coming could have awakened her.

  Stayed beside her for as long as I could. When I drew away and she didn’t awaken, I pulled the blanket up and tiptoed outside to talk with Billy and Old Bear. They’d taken care of the bodies, and Old Bear now sported a big grin and two silver-plated pistols in his belt.

  Billy smiled when I walked up and sipped at a steaming cup of coffee. “Elizabeth seems in fine shape, from what I could see.”

  “She’s doing well.”

  Never had much luck hiding my feelings, and I guess he could tell something troubled me. “What’s wrong, then, Hayden?”

  “I need you to do a big favor for me, Billy.”

  “Sure, if I can. You know I’d do pretty much anything you could ask.”

  “This one will be hard, Billy.”

  “How hard?”

  “I want you to take Elizabeth back to Fort Smith for me.”

  His smile vanished as he pitched his cup onto the ground. It rattled and clanged across the rocks. “You really know how to take the wind out of a man’s sails, Hayden.”

  “I know.”

  “Why can’t Old Bear take her back?” He kicked at the fire and sent embers spiraling into the night air.

  “I need him, Billy. We can’t track the way he can. And more importantly, he’s better with Caesar. You’re the one. I’m about to trust you with the most important person in my life. Can’t think of anyone else I’d put such faith in. The trip back to Fort Smith’s dangerous, and she has to be accompanied by someone who’d be willing to give his life to keep her safe. I know you’re the one to do that, Billy.”

  “My God, but you do know how to put a man on the spot.” He pushed the butts of his pistols forward and tapped his fingers against the lip of the scabbards, then smiled. “You’ve been takin’ lessons from Handsome Harry, haven’t you?”

  “Does that mean you’ll do it?”

  “As God is my witness, Hayden, I’ve never wanted to kill a man as bad in my entire life as Magruder. You know
that.” His head bobbed, and the emotion of memories caused his voice to crack. “Even swore to do it in the name of my friend Dick Little.” A long pause left us standing there in the quiet, listening to the fire crackle. “But I guess if you rub him out for me that’ll work just as well. Besides, your claim on his worthless hide outweighs mine by a considerable margin.”

  “You still didn’t answer me. Will you take her back?”

  He gave the fire one final kick and sighed like a man who couldn’t see any way out of the thing. “When do you want me to start?”

  “Tomorrow morning Old Bear and I’ll each take an extra horse, find Magruder’s trail, and ride him down. You let Elizabeth decide when she’s ready. I think she should rest here for at least a day or two then you can start back. She’s not gonna like the plan at all, but that’s the way I’ve decided it.”

  Not only did she not like the idea, it looked for a while like I might just have to tie her up before we struck out again. But in the end, she knew I was right. Before I could get away, she pressed herself against me and whispered in my ear, “I understand now why you want Magruder so badly. Do what you have to do and hurry back to me.” Then, she kissed me inside out. My brain turned into something like cornmeal mush, and my head was still spinning when Billy slapped Booger’s rump.

  Well, it didn’t take Old Bear but about an hour to find Magruder’s real trail. Murdering bastard tried to fool us by running east for a piece. But a few miles past Tishomingo, he turned south, heading for Texas, and pushed that black horse like demons were chasing him. Just when I felt certain we’d have him in our sights, he pulled a trick the likes of which neither of us could’ve imagined.