“Who are you?” Rosalie asked again.
“The name is Dirk Kendrick, Miss Ireland. And I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Kendrick? You are the head of the Fence Busters, aren’t you?”
“I am indeed. And I must say, I’m flattered that you have heard of me,” Kendrick said with a smile.
“I don’t see why you are flattered. I’ve heard nothing good about you. Why have you stopped me? Do you want me to give my father a message or something? If so, this is no way to go about it.”
“Oh, your father will get the message, all right,” Kendrick said as one of the men was tying her hands.
“Why are you tying my hands? What do you plan to do with me?”
“Nothing, if you behave yourself,” Kendrick said. A second man dropped a rope around her neck, then tightened the noose so that she could feel it quite easily. Her eyes grew wide in near panic.
“Don’t worry about the rope,” Kendrick said. “It’s just to keep you from trying to run away from us. Because if you do, you’ll be jerked off your horse, and, well, I’m certain you can anticipate the results of such an unfortunate event.” He blindfolded her.
“How am I going to see to ride?” Rosalie asked.
“You won’t have to see. All you have to do is hold on to the saddle horn. We will lead your horse where we want you to go.”
* * *
They had been riding for some time, and Rosalie had no idea where they were taking her, but she was aware that they were going up and down some rather sizeable hills. They crossed a railroad, but she didn’t know if it was the Houston and Texas Central or the Austin and Northwestern Railroad. They crossed water. She didn’t think it was the Colorado. The stream wasn’t wide enough. Walnut Creek? Decker Creek? Blanco River? She had no idea, because didn’t know what direction they were traveling.
After a ride of at least two hours, they came to a stop.
“Get down,” someone ordered.
The voice was beside and beneath her, so she knew that the man who gave the order was dismounted.
“I’m afraid to,” Rosalie said. “My hands are tied, and I have a rope around my neck. What if I fall?”
“Take the noose off her, Felker,” the voice said.
“And the blindfold?” Rosalie asked. “Please?”
“And the blindfold.”
“Hold still, girl,” said another voice right beside her.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Rosalie felt the rope being taken from around her neck, then the blindfold was removed. Looking around, she saw that they were in a canyon, though the canyon was so small that it could actually be called a draw. “What is this place?”
“It’s where you’re going to be for a while. Now, get down,” Kendrick ordered.
“Mr. Kendrick, I’ve never heard that you were a kidnapper before.”
“Well, I’ve never had a reason to kidnap anyone before.”
“Why have you kidnapped me? My dad is the governor, but he isn’t rich. If you ask for too much ransom, he won’t be able to pay it.”
“He can do what I want.” Kendrick made a motion toward the cabin. “Inside.”
“I, uh, need to . . .” She didn’t finish her sentence.
“Felker?”
“Yeah, boss?”
“Go with her.”
A huge grin spread across Felker’s face. “Yeah, I’ll go with her.”
“What?” Rosalie gasped. “You aren’t going to tell me I can’t have some privacy, are you? Are you afraid I would run away? Where would I go?”
“Put the noose back around her neck,” Kendrick said. “Take her over to those rocks, but you stay on this side.”
“Yeah, all right,” Felker said, obviously disappointed.
Rosalie attended to her business without incident, then was taken back to the cabin. It had one window and one door.
Inside was a stone fireplace, a rough-hewn table, and four “chairs” that weren’t chairs at all, but logs that had been split. With the flat side up, each was supported by four legs. There were no bunks.
“Here?” Rosalie asked. “How long do you expect me to stay in a place like this?”
“How long you stay here is up to your father,” Kendrick said. “If he cares enough about you to want you to come home, he’ll do our bidding and repeal that law.”
Governor’s Office, Austin
Governor Ireland looked up when Fitzhugh walked in. “Yes, Mr. Fitzhugh, what is it?”
“I just received this by messenger, sir,” Fitzhugh said, handing the governor a folded sheet of paper.
Curious, the governor read it.
We have your daughter, Rosalie. If you want to see her alive again, you will repeal the fence-cutting law. Do not go to the sheriff or the Texas Rangers, for if you do, the girl will be killed.
“My God! When did you get this?” Governor Ireland asked, his voice laced with horror and concern.
“Just now. Why, is there something wrong?” Fitzhugh replied.
“Where is the messenger?”
“He’s gone,”
“He’s gone? You mean you just let him go?”
“Governor, I saw no reason to hold him just because he was delivering a message. What does the message say?”
“You mean you didn’t read it?”
“No, sir, why should I? It was addressed to you.”
Governor Ireland handed the message to Fitzhugh.
“Oh, my!” Fitzhugh put his hand to his head. “Oh, my. This is awful!”
Slash Bell Ranch
Music spilled from the large music box, the resonant tones filling the parlor. Duff and Wang were enjoying the music. Elmer was enjoying pictures through the stereopticon. He reached his hand out as if trying to grasp something.
“What are you doing, Elmer?” Duff asked.
“I’m tryin’ to grab ahold of that cup that’s just sittin’ on the table there,” Elmer replied.
Duff laughed. “There is no cup . . . there is no table. You’re looking at a picture.”
Elmer lowered the stereopticon, then blinked. “I’ll be damned. You’re right, there ain’t no cup. It sure looks real in this picture, though. I ain’t never seen no picture that looks this real.”
“That’s because you are seeing the photo in three dimensions,” Bellefontaine explained.
“In what?”
“Three dimensions. You are seeing not only up and down and side to side, you are also seeing the pictures in depth. That’s what makes them seem so real to you.”
“Well now, whoever thought up such a thing?”
There was a loud knock on the front door, and Bellefontaine excused himself.
When Bellefontaine opened the door, he saw a tall man with a walrus mustache holding a high-crowned white hat in his hand.
“Captain Brooks,” Bellefontaine said, greeting the head of the Texas Rangers. “What brings you here?”
“Do you still have as your guests Mr. Duff MacCallister and Mr. Elmer Gleason?” Brooks asked.
Bellefontaine’s smile disappeared. “What is it? J.A., are you accusing them of something? Because whatever it is, I’m prepared to defend them.”
“You think that much of them, do you?”
“I do indeed.”
Brooks nodded. “It’s good to hear that the governor’s trust isn’t misplaced.”
“The governor’s trust? What do you mean, the governor’s trust? What’s this about?”
“I’d rather tell all of you at the same time,” Brooks said.
“Look, I’m not—”
Brooks stopped him with a wave of his hand. “Jason, the governor is in trouble, and he thinks that Mr. MacCallister and Mr. Gleason might be able to help him.”
“Oh, well, why didn’t you say so in the first place? Of course, come on in,” Bellefontaine said. “They’re in the parlor.”
When the two men stepped into the parlor, Duff, Elmer, and Wang stood to greet the guest of their
host.
“Gentlemen, this is Captain J. A. Brooks of the Texas Rangers. J.A., this is Mr. Duff MacCallister, Mr. Elmer Gleason, and Mr. Wang Chow.”
“It is good to meet you gentlemen,” Brooks said, extending his hand.
“Captain Brooks was sent here by the governor, specifically to talk to you three,” Bellefontaine.
“How can we help you, Captain?” Duff asked.
“Specifically, it was to talk to Mr. Gleason,” Brooks said, “though I’m sure that anything that involves him would also involve you, Mr. MacCallister.”
“And Wang,” Duff added.
Brooks nodded in acceptance that Wang would be included in the discussion. “Gentlemen, Governor Ireland has a daughter, a young woman named Rosalie.”
“Aye, we met the lass,” Duff said. “A pretty and well-mannered young lady, as I recall.”
“That’s her,” Captain Brooks said. “She’s as nice a young lady as you’d ever want to meet. No conceit at all, for all that she is the governor’s daughter.”
“What about Miss Rosalie?” Elmer asked.
“She’s been kidnapped.”
“What?” Duff asked.
“Kidnapped,” Captain Brooks repeated. “And the governor received this note from the kidnappers.” He handed the note to Duff.
Duff read it, then passed it to Elmer, who then passed it to Bellefontaine.
“Oh, my Lord,” Bellefontaine said, pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead. “This is all my fault.”
“How can you say that?” Brooks asked.
“I’m the one who wanted the governor to pass a law against cutting fences on public land.”
“That may be so, Mr. Bellefontaine, but I’m the one who talked the governor into doing it. If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s mine,” Elmer said.
“The governor isn’t looking to find fault with anyone,” Captain Brooks said. “What he is looking for is help.”
“Help? Help how?” Duff asked. “Whatever he wants, if ’tis in our power to do it, we’ll do it.”
“He wants you to see if you can find his daughter and bring her back safely,” Brooks said.
“Of course, we’ll do what we can,” Duff said. “But I’m curious. You are a captain of the Texas Rangers, and John Ireland is the governor. I assume he has the authority to order the Texas Rangers onto the case, doesn’t he? Why aren’t you on the case?”
“Oh, indeed he does, sir, indeed he does, and believe me, I would like nothing better than to take my men out in search for the girl.”
“Then I don’t understand. Why don’t you do so?”
“We could scarcely get involved without the outlaws finding out about it. I’m sure you saw, in their note, that the governor is not to go to the law. The governor is afraid that if we get involved, they will kill his daughter.”
Duff nodded. “Aye, I can see how he might fear that. But his daughter is only worth something to the outlaws as long as she is alive. Were they to kill her, they would nae have an advantage.”
“I believe so as well,” Captain Brooks said. “But the governor is too concerned over the fate of his daughter to take the chance on getting the Rangers involved. He thinks that perhaps you could look for his daughter in such a way as to not raise any suspicion.”
“Aye, ’n he may be right,” Duff said. “We’ll do what we can to find the young lass and bring her home safely.”
Captain Brooks smiled. “I was hoping you would say that. Now, if you would please, would you come back to Austin with me? The governor wants to meet with you before you get started.”
“Mr. Bellefontaine, it has been a pleasure doing business with you,” Duff said. “But, we’ll be taking leave of you now.”
“I understand. And I wish you the best of luck in finding the girl.”
Chapter Nineteen
Austin
“Elmer, thank God you came,” Governor Ireland said. When he saw Wang, he got a surprised expression on his face.
“Wang is with us, and he is a good man,” Elmer said. “Believe me, Colonel, if we are going to be able to find your daughter ’n bring her back home to you, Wang will be a big help.”
The governor nodded.
“I read the note, Governor. It wasn’t signed, but I assume it was the Fence Busters?” Duff asked.
“I’m sure of it,” the governor replied.
“I know that the law was just recently passed making it against the law to cut fence on public land. But my own experience with these brigands has proven that, even before making all fence cutting a felony, they were breaking the law. I dinnae mean this as a criticism, Governor, but how is it that you have nae gone after them before now?”
“I’ve known about them for some time, but they are so well organized and there are so many of them that no county sheriff departments have been able to stop them. Cutting fences on public land wasn’t against the law until recently, and I’m not sure that law would stand up now, if it was challenged in the federal court.”
“As I understand it, all you have to do to get your daughter back is repeal the law,” Duff said.
“Yes.”
“Have you considered that?”
“I’ve considered it, but I just got the legislature to pass the law. I can’t very well go back to them now and ask them to repeal it. To be honest with you, I’m not sure the legislature would be willing to do so, even if they knew the reason for my request.”
“I think you are doing the right thing, Governor. ’Tis a courageous decision on your part not to give in to them,” Duff said.
“Yes, well, I don’t know if it is courageous or foolish,” Governor Ireland said. “But I do know this. If I do what they ask, and they return Rosalie unharmed, she’ll always be a hostage, even if she is at home. They will know that all they have to do is threaten her, and they can bend me to their will. She would always be in danger.”
“Governor, you said there are many Fence Busters. Do you know how many there are?” Duff asked.
“I don’t have an exact count, for the number varies as new members join, while some back out or are killed. The best estimate we have is that there are between thirty and forty. Their leader, as I’m sure you have already heard, is Dirk Kendrick.”
“Do you know anything about Kendrick?” Duff asked.
“Oh, I know a great deal about him, and none of it is good,” the governor replied. “He is originally from New York, where he practiced law. According to the information I have been given, he was a very good lawyer, successfully defending some of the most disreputable people in the city.
“He was, for a long time, the counselor for a gang of hoodlums known as the Whyos.”
“The what?” Elmer asked.
“The Whyos,” Governor Ireland repeated. He shook his head. “Don’t ask me what that means. According to what I learned from the New York Police, the Whyos are an Irish gang that started out as a loose collection of petty thugs, pickpockets, and murderers, but were brought together as a gang by a man named Googie Corcoran. They controlled all of Manhattan. The petty criminals either joined the gang or they were put out of business for not joining. Kendrick was his chief counselor.
“One of their most effective ploys was to sell ‘insurance’”—he raised his hands and made quotation marks above his head—“to business owners, to prevent their businesses from being attacked by criminal elements. The criminal element, of course, was the Whyos themselves. Kendrick, as a lawyer, would visit the businesses and write up the contracts between the businesses and the ‘insurance’ company.
“When the New York and Texas Land Company needed someone to do their bidding down here, they recruited Kendrick.”
“Ha! He’s from New York then and not a Westerner?” Elmer asked.
“Yes, and that makes him all the more dangerous,” Governor Ireland said. “He doesn’t seem to have the same sense of honor that even our criminals have out here.”
“How is it that the New York and
Texas Land Company was able to recruit Kendrick?” Duff asked.
“Apparently, the police cracked down on the Whyos and most of them wound up in jail. Kendrick took advantage of that opportunity to leave New York before the police began their raid.”
“Have the New York police asked you to arrest Kendrick?” Duff asked.
“No, they haven’t, and I don’t think they will,” the governor replied. “Don’t underestimate Kendrick’s intelligence. The same skills he used to negotiate the contracts with the victims of the Whyos kept his name free of any association with them beyond that of being their lawyer. And of course, there is no crime in defending criminals, since the constitution guarantees everyone the right to counsel.”
“So now he is here, with an army of what could be as many as forty men, and he is holding your daughter in captivity,” Duff said.
“Yes. Please tell me you’ll do what you can.”
“You are aware, Governor, that there are but three of us.”
Governor Ireland hung his head for a moment. “Yes, I am quite aware of that,” he said quietly.
“What makes you think that three of us could best a force of some forty men?”
“I . . . I don’t know,” the governor admitted. “I suppose I was just clutching at straws. Of course, if you don’t wish to undertake this task, I can certainly understand why.”
“I haven’t said that we won’t help, but we do have to have some sort of workable plan. Let the three of us have lunch, so we can discuss this among ourselves. We’ll come up with some idea, then we’ll get back to you this afternoon,” Duff said.
“I would like for you to be my guest at the Capitol Restaurant,” the governor said. He took a sheet of monogrammed paper from his desk and scrawled out a quick note. “Show this to the maître d’.”
“Governor, my friend, Wang?”
“There will be no problem,” Governor Ireland said.
* * *
Five minutes later Duff, Elmer, and Wang were sitting at a table in the Capitol Restaurant discussing the governor’s request as they waited to be served.
Ten Guns from Texas Page 14
