Slocum's Close Call

by Jake Logan

  “But here’s what we could do. We could go in, just one or two of us at a time, and take out one or two of them wherever we could find them. We’d have to figure out where to find them when they ain’t all together. Take out one or two here, another one there, until we get them whittled down to size. Now, you all know the lay of the land. I don’t. And some of you ought to know something about their habits. So what do you say?”

  “I think we could get to them easy enough right now,” Joiner said. “Like you said, they’re licking their wounds. Ain’t likely to be anyone watching the trails for us either.”

  “Harman has a room upstairs in the Hi De Ho,” said Eddie Cobb. “For nights when he didn’t want to ride back out here. He’d be either in that room, or downstairs in the saloon, or in his office. Any way you look at it, he’s in that building somewhere. And he’ll keep at least two gunhands there with him all the time. Kurt and Jelly each have rooms in the hotel. It’s across the street and down to the south from the saloon. Course, the cowhands had all been staying out here. I don’t know where they’ll be put up.”

  “Has the Hi De Ho got extra rooms upstairs?” Slocum asked.

  “Well, yeah,” said Cobb. “I guess you could call them that. They’ve got whores in them.”

  “Well, then,” Slocum said, “we’d most likely find most of the gang in the same building, unless they’d gone out somewhere to eat or were on their way out here.”

  “Most likely,” Cobb said. “Course, there ain’t no guarantee.”

  “There never is,” said Slocum. He stuck a cigar in his mouth and rolled it around. “We don’t want to leave this place unguarded,” he said. “We don’t think they’ll be coming out here right away, but we can’t be sure of that either. What do you all say to this notion? Let me and Eddie here slip into town and see just how much damage we can do real quiet-like. That way the rest of you will be here guarding the house, and if anything happens to us in town, you’ll still have possession here.”

  “I don’t like it,” Myrtle said. “Just the two of you in town alone? It’s too dangerous.”

  “The only thing that ain’t dangerous,” Slocum said, “would be if we was all to pack up and run for it right now. Short of that, we got to do something, and anything we do will have its risks. But I ain’t trying to ramrod things here. I’ll listen to any ideas anybody else has.”

  They sat quietly. Finally Eddie Cobb said, “Slocum, let’s me and you go to town.”

  8

  Slocum and Cobb tied their horses in a clump of trees just outside Rat’s Nest. The sun had just gone down, and the small grove was in heavy shadow. They were behind a small frame house, and from inside the house, light showed through one window. “Harvey Beard lives in there,” Cobb said in a low voice. “Likely he’s alone. He’s there, or else there wouldn’t be no light.”

  “How come you’re so sure he’s alone?” Slocum asked.

  “I know his habits,” said Cobb. “He plays around in the Hi De Ho, but when he goes home, he goes alone. Always has.”

  “Okay,” Slocum said. “Let’s go get him.”

  They made their way quietly and cautiously to the front door of the house. Slocum pressed himself against the wall to the side of the door, took out his Colt, and nodded. Cobb knocked on the door. “Who’s there?” called Beard’s voice from in the house.

  “Harvey,” said Cobb, “open up.”

  “Who is it?” Beard demanded.

  “It’s Eddie. Eddie Cobb. Open up.”

  The door was jerked open, and Harvey Beard stood there with a gun in his hand. He glared at Cobb. “Where the fuck have you been?” he asked.

  Looking at the gun, Cobb backed away a few steps. “Hiding out,” he said. “Harvey, you don’t need that gun. I just want to talk to you. That’s all. Hey, I didn’t come after you with my gun out, did I?”

  “I ain’t got nothing to talk to you about, but I damn sure bet Mr. Harman would like to have a talk with you,” Beard said, and he stepped out the door moving toward Cobb. Slocum swung his arm fast and hard, bringing his heavy Colt down on Beard’s right wrist. They could all hear the sound of a bone snapping. Beard felt it, and he yowled in pain and fright. His gun fell to the ground. Cobb reached down to pick it up as Slocum grabbed Beard’s shirtfront with his left hand and slammed him against the wall. He poked the barrel of his Colt against Beard’s nose.

  “Ow,” said Beard. “Oh. Goddammit. You broke my goddamn arm. Ow. Shit. What’d you do that for?”

  “To save your worthless life, you dumb shit,” Slocum said. “This way you won’t be no good for Harman. And there’s a big fight coming. For your own good, I suggest you pack up and get out of the country.”

  “How can I pack with this arm broke?” Beard said.

  “That’s your problem,” said Slocum. “Would you rather get killed? We can sure enough oblige you if that’s what you want.”

  “No,” said Beard. “No. Hell. I’ll get out. Ain’t nothing here that I need anyhow. I don’t need to pack nothing. I just wish I could see a doctor first, but that’s all right. I’ll go. I’ll go. Shit. You broke me up real good, you don’t need to be killing me.”

  “I’ll saddle his horse,” said Cobb.

  “You mean I got to ride out right now?” Beard whined, wincing with pain. “With this arm the way it is?”

  Cobb went to get the horse ready, and Slocum shoved Beard harder against the wall. “No,” Slocum said. “You don’t have to go. But if you stay, I’ll kill you. How many times do I have to explain things to you?”

  “All right, all right,” Beard said. “I’ll go. I’ll go right now, but you’ve probably ruined me for life. I hope you know that.”

  “Likely so,” Slocum said. “At least as a gunhand. Clean yourself up and maybe you can find yourself a job clerking in a general store or sweeping up a saloon somewhere. It just better be a long ways from here. If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you. Remember that.”

  Cobb brought Beard’s horse around saddled and ready to go, and Beard mounted up, groaning and whining. Slocum gave the horse a hard slap on the ass, and it bolted forward. Then Slocum and Cobb stood and watched as Beard rode out of sight on the road headed north away from Rat’s Nest. “He won’t be back,” Cobb said. “That leaves eleven.”

  “Let’s go on to town,” said Slocum.

  They rode cautiously into Rat’s Nest and tied their horses in an alley behind the sheriff’s office. It was an easy and secluded walk to the back door of the hotel where it might be possible to find at least a couple of Harman’s men alone in their rooms. They had started to walk in that direction when Cobb put a hand on Slocum’s shoulder. Slocum stopped and looked at Cobb. Cobb nodded toward the back door of the sheriff’s office. Light could be seen under the door.

  “What’s that mean?” Slocum asked in a low voice.

  “Looks like someone’s in there,” Cobb whispered. “I’d guess someone Harman put in. Do we go on to the hotel?”

  Slocum pulled Cobb off a ways from the door. “Let’s deal with this first,” he said.

  “That back door’s most likely locked,” said Cobb. “It don’t hardly ever get used.”

  “We don’t know who’s in there,” Slocum said, “nor how many of them. We need to find out. If you was to walk around there to the front, chances are you’d get spotted right quick. Everyone knows you. I’d best do it.”

  “All right,” Cobb said, “but I’ll go with you as far as the corner of the building. I’ll wait there in the shadows till I see what you’re up to.”

  “Let’s go,” Slocum said, and he led the way around to the front comer of the sheriff’s office. He looked up and down the street. There was a little traffic over in front of the Hi De Ho, but otherwise the street was almost deserted. He stepped out onto the board sidewalk and walked toward the front door of the sheriff’s office and jail. When he reached the door he kept walking, but he glanced through the window and saw two men sitting and talking. A whiskey
bottle sat on the desk between them. Past the window and out of their sight, Slocum stopped, turned, and raised two fingers. Cobb nodded. Slocum made a few quick gestures, and Cobb nodded again. Then he stepped out on the sidewalk and started walking. Slocum waited until Cobb was close to the door, then walked into him.

  “Hey,” Slocum shouted. “Watch where the hell you’re going.”

  “You bumped into me,” Cobb said.

  Slocum shoved Cobb against the wall, and Cobb swung a right that glanced off Slocum’s chin. The two men inside the office saw what was happening and stood up to watch through the window. Slocum drove a left into Cobb’s belly, and Cobb wrapped his arms around Slocum, wrestling him back against the wall again. The men inside the office pressed their faces to the window to get a better look, but the two combatants were too far to one side. They moved to the door to open it, and just then Slocum flung Cobb against the door. The door flew open, and Cobb fell hard against one of the men. Both of them sprawled out on the floor.

  “Hey,” the other man said. “Take it back outside.”

  “Goddammit,” said the man on the floor, struggling to get out from under Cobb and back up onto his feet. “You clumsy bastard.”

  Slocum stepped inside. “Let me at him,” he snarled.

  The man on his feet grabbed Slocum by a shoulder.

  “Hold on there, pardner,” he said, and Slocum swung a left hard into the man’s jaw. He felt it crack. The man groaned and staggered back. He stood limply, holding his face in both hands. Slocum moved quickly to take the revolver out of the man’s holster. He turned and leveled it at the other man, just getting to his feet.

  The man stopped still. “What is this?” he said.

  Cobb got to his feet and reached from behind the man to get his gun. “What the hell do we do with them now?” Cobb asked.

  Slocum shrugged. “Put them in jail, I guess.”

  Cobb moved over to the nearest cell and swung the door open wide. “Come on, you two,” he said.

  The unhurt man turned to obey, and sudden recognition flashed over his face. “Eddie Cobb,” he said. “You son of a bitch.”

  “Get in the cell,” Cobb said.

  “Hold it,” Slocum said, stepping over in front of the man. He looked down at the holster hanging on the man’s left hip. “A leftie, huh?” Slocum said.

  The man looked puzzled. “So what?” he said.

  Slocum reached out, grabbed the man’s left-hand index finger, and with a quick twist snapped it. The man yowled in pain. Slocum shoved him toward the cell. Then he went back for the other one who was still sagging and holding his face. “I don’t think this one’ll be doing much fighting for a spell,” he said, “but I don’t like taking chances.” He grabbed the right index finger of that one and jerked it back. The bone broke with a loud crack, and the man hollered, but the movement of his jaw hurt even more. He resorted to whimpering as Slocum pushed him into the cell with the other man. Cobb shut the door and locked it.

  “Get the keys,” said Slocum, “and let’s take all the guns and ammunition out of here.”

  “You goddamn dirty bastards,” said the left-handed man. “Harman’ll get you for this.”

  “He’ll have to do it with only nine men,” said Cobb, “and that’s counting him.”

  “Let’s go,” said Slocum.

  Loaded up with rifles, six-guns, boxes of ammunition, and the big key ring, Slocum and Cobb went out the back door of the sheriff’s office and moved quickly over to their horses. Slocum unraveled a length of lariat off his saddle. He strung the extra six-guns onto the rope by poking its end through their trigger guards, then lapped the rope several times around the rifles to make a bundle. He tied the bundle behind his saddle. He and Cobb stuffed the boxes of ammunition into their saddlebags. From inside the jail, a voice started to howl out for help.

  “What now?” Cobb asked.

  “Let’s not push our luck,” said Slocum. “Let’s just get the hell out of here.” They mounted up and started to ride back out of town. A few miles down the road, Eddie Cobb tossed the key ring into some bushes.

  Back at the ranch, they found Joiner, Bobby, Myrtle, and Julia waiting anxiously for their return. “God, we’re glad to see you back here safe,” Joiner said.

  “Tell us what happened,” said Myrtle.

  “We only got nine of them to worry about now,” Cobb said, in partial answer.

  Slocum walked over to the big table and sat down. “Let’s sit here and talk about it over a glass of whiskey,” he said. Myrtle hurried for the bottle while Julia got out six glasses and put them on the table. Everyone sat down to a glass except Joiner. He hesitated.

  “Sit down, Chuckie,” said Slocum.

  “But you said—”

  “I know what I said,” Slocum declared. “Right now I’m asking you to join us.”

  Joiner sat down as Myrtle handed the bottle to Slocum. He poured himself a glassful and passed the bottle to Eddie Cobb. Soon it had gone all the way around the table. Only then did Slocum raise his glass. “Pardners,” he said, “for the first time since we got ourselves into this, it looks like we got a chance to win it.” Then they all drank.

  “All right,” Myrtle said, “you going to tell us now?”

  “Go on ahead,” Slocum said to Cobb.

  “Well,” Cobb said, “first thing, we stopped off at old Harvey Beard’s house, ’cause, you know, he lives outside of town all by his lonesome. Ole Slocum here broke his arm, and we sent him on his way north. We went on into town then, thinking we’d try to sneak up on some of them in their hotel rooms, but instead we seen that they had a light on in the sheriff’s office. We found two of them in there, and we busted their trigger fingers and locked them up in a cell. We took all the guns and ammunition that was in the office and decided that we’d call it a night. So we trimmed them down from twelve to nine and didn’t even have to kill no one.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Joiner said.

  “So what’s our next move?” Myrtle said.

  “That’s a damn good question,” Slocum said. “If we sit out here waiting for Harman to make the next move, he might just send out of town for more gunhands. I don’t think we can afford to give him time for that. If we try to go back to town the way we did tonight, we might run into a little more trouble. He’ll be expecting it now. Likely they’ll all hang together somewhere. Probably in the Hi De Ho, and we won’t get to pick them off one or two at a time. The only other thing I can think of is to try to call them out for a face-off. All of them and all of us right out in the open. And I don’t think we can do that by just riding in there ready for a fight. Like I said before, we’d look like a gang of outlaws pulling a raid. We don’t want to put folks on their side.”

  “So what do we do?” Joiner said.

  “We need to get folks on our side before we call Harman and his bunch out,” Slocum said.

  “How are we going to do that?” Myrtle asked.

  “How do the other ranchers around here feel about Harman?” Slocum said.

  “About the way we do,” Myrtle said.

  “They just haven’t been able to do anything about him,” Julia added. “They’re either afraid or—whatever. I don’t know.”

  “Up until Harman’s bunch killed Bud,” Cobb said, “they came to the law with their complaints and suspicions. But they never had no proof, and Bud always said we have to have proof. We have to do things within the law. I guess most folks around here was just hoping that one of these days Bud would come up with some kind of evidence against Harman.”

  “Can you all get a bunch of people together for a meeting?” Slocum asked. “Right here?”

  The others all looked at each other, and finally Myrtle answered. “Yeah,” she said. “I think so. Mort Hindman would come, and Bailey and—and—Harris.”

  “Brick Thurman,” said Julia. “He’ll come.”

  “I can think of another half dozen at least,” said Cobb. “Hell, any of the honest folks around
these parts would, I believe.”

  “All right,” Slocum said. “Here’s the way I see it. We get all these folks over here, and let Chuckie tell them his story about what Harman done to him, why he’s been gone for two years, how Harman got his hands on this ranch, the whole story, then wind it up with a showing of the evidence that proves that Harman was behind all the rustling all this time. That should get them convinced and get them on our side. Right?”

  “Sure it will,” said Joiner.

  “I think so,” Cobb agreed. “Like I said before, they all been just waiting for someone to come up with proof against Harman and his bunch.”

  “Okay,” Slocum said. “So we get them convinced, get them on our side, then we pop this one on them. The sheriff’s been killed, now Joe Short’s dead too, and even if he wasn’t dead, he was with Harman. The only legitimate law left here is Eddie Cobb, and he’s here with us. With all that fresh information in their heads, we tell them that we’re going to town to clean Harman and them out once and for all. We tell them to spread the word to all the decent folks that we’re in the right on this deal, and we got the law with us, and to stay out of the way when it happens. What do you say?”

  “Let’s do it,” said Joiner.

  “I agree,” Cobb said.

  “It sounds good to me,” said Myrtle.

  “Me too,” Julia agreed.

  “Then, by God,” said Slocum, “let’s drink to it.”

  They all lifted their glasses together. Slocum drained his glass and stood up. “On that,” he said, “I think I’ll turn in. I don’t think we’ll have any visitors tonight, but just to be safe, we ought to keep a watch.”

  “I’ll watch,” Bobby said. “I ain’t done no good today yet. Reckon it’s my turn.”

  As Slocum headed for the bedroom, Myrtle watched him greedily. Eddie Cobb headed for the couch in the big room, and Joiner and Julia unashamedly headed up the stairs together.