Ten Guns from Texas

by William W. Johnstone

  “You do seem to be well motivated toward seeking Mr. MacCallister’s demise. If, perchance, he does remain in the area, our operation would benefit greatly from the gentleman’s untimely death. Therefore, I shall assign you the task of taking care of MacCallister, if you truly think you are capable.”

  “I’m capable, all right,” Jaco replied.

  “And, apparently, motivated,” Kendrick added. “That is a good thing, for sufficient motivation will often compensate for diminished capability.”

  * * *

  “He is an evil man,” Glitter said to Tadlock that afternoon. She was speaking of Kendrick. “He is real educated, and when I first met him, I thought he was nice. I mean, he does have nice manners.”

  “Some of the most evil men you can imagine had good manners,” Tadlock replied. “They say that Santa Anna had good manners, but look what a damn dictator he was. Excuse the language.”

  Glitter laughed. “Mr. Tadlock, you don’t have to apologize for swearing. My word, you should hear the language the men use in the Pair of Kings. Why, sometimes, it positively makes your ears burn.”

  “You don’t have to stay there, darlin’.”

  “Sure I do. Where else would I go? Consider what I do, Mr. Tadlock. I know I never done nothing with you, but if I left Pair of Kings, all I could do is the same thing, just in some other saloon. And what if I didn’t find someone else as nice as Weasel?”

  “Does Weasel know how you feel about him?”

  “No, and you dasn’t ever tell him,” Glitter said.

  “Now, darlin’, I haven’t been in a saloon of any kind in more ’n twenty years. When would I tell ’im?”

  “I guess you’re right. If you don’t ever go there, you won’t be able to tell him.”

  “You’re wrong about not havin’ anyplace to go, though,” Tadlock said.

  Glitter frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “You could always come here ’n live with me.”

  “Ha. Don’t think there haven’t been times when I’ve thought of that very thing.”

  Merrill Town

  The arrival of Duff, Elmer, Wang, Bellefontaine, and Post generated a lot of attention. The reason for the interest was the four bodies in the wagon driven by Post. They headed straight for the sheriff’s office, their progress followed by several citizens of the town.

  Deputy Seth Bullock stepped out of the sheriff’s office, put his hand on the post that was supporting the porch roof, then spit a stream of tobacco juice into the watering trough. “What you got there?”

  “It seems fairly obvious, doesn’t it?” Bellefontaine asked. “We have four bodies.”

  “Who kilt ’em?”

  “We did.”

  “What did you kill ’em for?”

  “We killed them because they were rustling my cattle,” Bellefontaine replied.

  “But there warn’t really none of your cows that got stoled, was they? So, that means they ain’t really rustlers, don’t it?”

  Bellefontaine’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know they didn’t get away with any? We just got here. Who, besides us, could have told you?”

  Bullock flinched at Bellefontaine’s words, then he took another chew of tobacco as he tried to formulate the answer. “Didn’t nobody tell me. I just sort of figured that.”

  “Well, you figured right. They didn’t get away with any of my cattle.”

  “If they didn’t get away with any of your cows, then you didn’t actual have no right in shootin’ ’em. You know what I think?”

  “I’d love to hear what you think, Bullock,” Bellefontaine said. “In fact, I’m surprised that you think at all.”

  Bullock pointed to the four bodies. “All four o’ them boys is wearin’ blue kerchiefs. I think they’re Fence Busters.”

  “You think they are Fence Busters, do you?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I think.”

  “Maybe you aren’t as dumb as I thought you were. Yes, it is obvious they are Fence Busters.”

  “You know what else I’m thinkin’? I’m thinkin’ they warn’t stealin’ your cows a-tall. I’m a-thinkin’ they was just cuttin’ fence on public land, ’n you shot ’em for that. ’N that would be murder, seein’ as there ain’t no law agin’ cuttin’ fence on public land.”

  “Where is Sheriff Wallace?”

  “He ain’t here,” Bullock said.

  “Well, you tell him that I’ll be leaving these bodies at Ponder’s Mortuary.”

  Bullock squirted out another stream of tobacco, then he looked over at Wang as if noticing him for the first time. “Who’s the Chinaman?”

  “He’s my priest,” Duff said, speaking for the first time.

  “A priest? I ain’t never heard of no Chinaman priest.”

  “Give him a blessing, Father Wang,” Duff said.

  “I don’t want no blessin’ from no damn Chinaman.” Bullock turned and walked back into the office.

  Duff and the others laughed.

  * * *

  “Who’s going to pay for burying them?” Ponder asked when he came from his office to look at the bodies.

  “Give them the cheapest burial you can,” Bellefontaine said. “I expect the county will pay for them. If they don’t, I will.”

  “They’re Fence Busters, aren’t they?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t want any trouble with the Fence Busters,” Ponder said.

  Bellefontaine frowned. “How are you going to have any trouble with them, just by burying some of their men?”

  “I guess you’re right. All right. I’ll bury them. You wouldn’t happen to know any of them, would you?”

  “No.”

  “Then, if you don’t mind, after I get them ready, I’ll stand them up in front of my place for a few hours. Maybe someone will recognize them. I like to know who it is I bury, just in case some of them have relatives that want to know what happened to them.”

  The rancher nodded. “That’s probably a pretty good idea.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Bellefontaine, Sam Post, Duff, Elmer, and Wang stepped into the Texas Hill Country Cattleman’s Association office next door to the CSS Alabama Saloon.

  They were greeted by Jack Porter, who had been hired by the association to manage the business and run the office. “Jason, what brings you here? We aren’t scheduled to have another meeting for a week, yet.”

  “I want you to call a special meeting,” Bellefontaine said.

  “What for?”

  “The Slash Bell was hit by the Fence Busters this morning.”

  Porter frowned. “Cutting your fences?”

  “Yes, but it wasn’t just a fence-cutting raid. They also tried to rustle cattle, some of the new Black Angus I just acquired.”

  “The Black Angus you’ve been telling us all about? That’s too bad; I know how you’ve been looking forward to getting them. How many did they get away with, do you know?”

  “They didn’t get away with any cattle,” Bellefontaine said. “As a matter of fact, we killed four of them.”

  Porter’s eyes grew wide. “You killed four Fence Busters?”

  “Yes. They’re down at Ponder’s Mortuary right now.”

  “Damn, that’s never happened before. That could be trouble.”

  “It’s not just ‘could be.’ It is trouble. And it has been trouble for some time now. That’s why I want you to call a meeting of the association. We need to talk about this.”

  “Jason, we’ve talked about the problem with the Fence Busters before, and we’ve never gotten anywhere with it. What makes you think we could accomplish anything now?”

  “Like you said, we’ve never killed any of them before. I think this is going to come to a head soon. I want to go talk to the governor, but when I go, I want the association behind me.”

  “We’ve tried to get the governor to act before, but he won’t even meet with us. What makes you think he’ll talk to you now?”

  Bellefontaine looked ov
er at Elmer, inviting him to talk.

  “Me ’n John was good friends oncet. I’m pretty sure I can at least get him to talk to us.”

  “You?” Porter examined Elmer for a long moment. “Are you trying to tell us that you and the governor are friends?”

  “I’m not tryin’ to tell you nothin’, sonny,” Elmer said. “I am tellin’ you that me ’n the governor is good friends. And if I go to the capital to talk to John, he will see me.”

  “All right. I’ll call the meeting. It’ll probably be one o’clock this afternoon before I can get everyone gathered, though.”

  “We’ll spend some time in town until then,” Bellefontaine said.

  Leaving the Cattlemen’s Association, Elmer, Wang, and Post stepped next door to the CSS Alabama Saloon. Duff and Bellefontaine went on to the bank.

  “I believe the agreed-upon price was twenty-two thousand, five hundred dollars,” Bellefontaine said.

  “That was for five hundred head,” Duff said. “There are only four hundred ninety-four head now. That will be two hundred seventy dollars less.”

  “That’s no fault of yours, Mr. MacCallister. You delivered five hundred head as agreed. I’ll pay the entire amount.”

  Duff smiled and nodded. “Aye, ’n ’tis a good man you be.”

  “Very good,” the banker said. “Will you be wanting cash or a draft for the money, Mr. MacCallister?”

  “I would like twenty-five hundred dollars in cash ’n could you be for doing a wire transfer to the Bank of Chugwater in Chugwater, Wyoming for the remainder?” Duff replied.

  “Yes, sir, we would be glad to do that for you.” The banker counted out the cash, handed it to Duff, and took care of the wire transfer.

  Duff signed a notarized bill of sale for the cattle, annotating that the cows bore two brands.

  With the business in the bank taken care of, Duff and Bellefontaine started back toward the Alabama Saloon, passing by the undertaker’s on the way. As he said he would, Ponder had the four bodies in pine coffins, standing up in front of his place of business. A hand-lettered sign was pinned to the wall above the row of coffins.

  DO YOU KNOW THESE MEN?

  * * *

  In another part of the town, three of the men who had ridden with the Fence Busters during their aborted attempt at rustling cattle from the Slash Bell Ranch had come into Merrill Town and were drinking at the Hog Pen Saloon.

  “Did you see what they got standing out front down of the undertaker’s shop?” one of the men asked. “They got Smitty, Hensen, Miller, ’n Perkins standin’ up out front. That ain’t right.”

  “Hell, Logan, ’stead of worryin’ ’bout whether it’s right or not, you should just be glad that you ain’t one of ’em. I sure as hell know I’m glad I ain’t one of ’em,” Martell said. “Whoever expected a bunch o’ cowboys to be able to shoot like that?”

  “It wasn’t cowboys. Leastwise, it wasn’t none of Bellefontaine’s cowboys, exceptin’ for Sam Post. I don’t know who them others was,” Logan said.

  “One of ’em was a Chinaman,” Clay said.

  “Yeah, it was the Chinaman that kilt Perkins,” Martell said.

  “Yeah,” Clay said. “’N I seen ’im do it, but the Chinaman didn’t shoot ’im. What he done was throwed somethin’ at ’im. Warn’t a knife, though. I don’t rightly know what it was.”

  “What I want to know is why they got ’em standin’ up like that for, anyhow?” Logan asked.

  “They’re wantin’ someone to identify ’em,” Clay said.

  “Well, they should be identified. It ain’t right for ’em to be buried without nobody knows who they are,” Logan said.

  “You want to go down there and identify ’em, Logan?”

  “Somebody ought to.”

  “If you identify ’em, then ever’one will know that you was with them when they tried to steal them cattle,” Martell pointed out.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. All right. I won’t say nothin’ ’bout who they are.”

  The Double D Ranch

  “I don’t know how many more head of your cattle I can handle. Too many more, and people might get to wondering where all the cattle are coming from.” The speaker was a large man with a protruding brow and chin whiskers.

  “The reason I chose you in the first place is because you already have a big enough herd that ours can blend in without the increase in herd size being noticed right away. In addition to the ten thousand I already got with you, I plan to put at least another twenty thousand with you,” Kendrick said.

  “That would more than double the herd I have now. That’s too dangerous.”

  “But then you would have thirty thousand head of my cows. And since you are getting five dollars a head to keep them, that’s a hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

  “Yeah,” the rancher said, smiling broadly. “Yeah, that’s right.”

  “Besides, once a herd is as large as yours is now, you could easily double the size without arousing too much suspicion,” Kendrick added. “You don’t actually expect people to come around counting how many cows you have, do you?”

  The rancher laughed. “No, I don’t expect anything like that.”

  “Then just sit back and watch the money pour in. Besides, I expect by this time next year to have the cattle sold and gone. You’ll have your hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and we’ll be out of your hair.”

  “Yes, well, there is still one problem,” the rancher said.

  “What problem is that?”

  “There’s been a special meeting called of the Hill Country Cattlemen’s Association.”

  “Why is that a problem?” Kendrick asked.

  “You know damn well they are going to talk about you. You did say that you hit Jason Bellefontaine’s place, didn’t you?”

  Kendrick gave a nod. “Yeah, but we didn’t get away with any of his cattle. And that’s a shame because I really would like to get my hands on some Angus.”

  “I’m just as glad you didn’t.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Where would you put them?”

  Kendrick smiled. “Why, I would put them with you, of course.”

  “You may be a smart lawyer and all, but you aren’t thinking straight about this. Bellefontaine is the only rancher in the entire three-county area who has any Black Angus cattle. Not only that, he’s been talkin’ about it for at least three months.”

  “So?”

  “A Black Angus cow in with my herd would stand out like a pumpkin in a turnip patch. Seeing as Bellefontaine is the only one with Black Angus, it wouldn’t take much for someone to figure out how I got them.”

  “I see,” Kendrick said. “Yes, now that you mention it. they would be difficult to hide, wouldn’t they?”

  “Not difficult. Impossible.”

  “Then we shall have to leave the Angus alone for a while. When is the association meeting?”

  “Porter sent a messenger by just before you got here. He said the meeting is this afternoon.”

  “You will tell me what transpires during the meeting.”

  The rancher agreed. “Yes, of course I will. By the way, the messenger also told me that four bodies were brought into town, Fence Busters who tried to rustle some of Bellefontaine’s cattle.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That was a pretty expensive raid, wasn’t it? Losing four men like that?”

  “Yes, it was. As it turns out the man who delivered the Angus to Bellefontaine is a most dangerous adversary. I wasn’t aware of him, and I paid the price for my ignorance of that fact. However, with the cattle delivered, I’ve no doubt but that he will return to Wyoming, and I don’t expect any future encounters with him.”

  Merrill Town

  Duff, Elmer, Wang, Prescott, Bellefontaine, and Sam Post were having lunch in the CSS Alabama Saloon. Prescott had sent someone down to Ma Ling’s to get a carry-out meal so Wang could have lunch with his friends.

  “Do you think the associati
on will support our going to see the governor?” Duff asked.

  “I can’t say for sure,” Bellefontaine admitted. “I think they might, but there are a couple on the board who seem to be against anything anyone suggests. To tell the truth, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were hooked up with the Fence Busters in some way.”

  “Why would that be? Don’t all the cattlemen have problems with them?”

  “You would think so,” Bellefontaine said. “But some seem to have less trouble than others, if you know what I mean.”

  “Do you have any suspicion as to who, in the association, might be connected with Kendrick?”

  “I do have my suspicions, but I’d rather not say,” Bellefontaine replied. “I’d rather let you watch and see if you suspect anyone, without any input from me. If you choose the same person I have, it would go a long way toward validating my suspicion.”

  “Aye, it would,” Duff agreed.

  “It’s coming up on one o’clock. I think we should be a little early, just to make certain Porter calls the meeting like he promised,” Bellefontaine suggested.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Duff and the others walked back to the office of the Texas Hill Country Cattlemen’s Association. A couple surreys and a buckboard were already parked out front. Bill Lewis and Bull Blackwell were on foot, approaching the office from the opposite direction.

  “Hello, Lewis, hello, Blackwell,” Bellefontaine said. “Glad you men could make it to the meeting.”

  “What’s this meeting about, Jason?” Lewis asked. “We aren’t supposed to have another meeting until next month.”

  “I asked Porter to call a special meeting,” Bellefontaine replied.

  “Did you, now? Well, I hope it’s important. I’m puttin’ a new roof on the barn,” Blackwell said.

  “Hell, Bull, what do you mean you was putting a new roof on the barn? When I rode by, you wasn’t doin’ nothin’ but watchin’,” Lewis said with a chuckle.