One Man's Fire

by Ralph Compton

  “Town like this one,” Eli chuckled, “Jake and the rest of us would ride through and pick what we wanted like a kid with his hand in a cookie jar.”

  “Those were the days, eh?”

  Eli shrugged. “I’d be lying if I said they weren’t. Haven’t you ever wanted to just draw that pistol and shoot out every window in sight? Knock down anyone who looked at you cross-eyed? Set fire to something just to watch it burn?”

  “Sure.”

  Turning to glance over his shoulder so he could examine the sheriff, Eli asked, “No fooling?”

  “Every man’s wanted those things. The difference is in who does them or not. Let me guess. It was the other members of that gang who set them fires or gunned down those cross-eyed fellas, but it was you who shot out the windows and took what you wanted?”

  Eli kept his mouth shut and stared out the window again. It might have been comforting to have a parent or wife be able to read his soul, but someone like Saunders pulling off the same trick was downright annoying.

  “You waiting for someone to ride in, guns blazing, to bust your friend out of jail?” Saunders asked.

  “No. I wish I could hear Cody screaming and shaking the bars of that cage, though. Serves him right for sticking a knife in my back and then expecting me to believe him when he lies about it once he gets caught.”

  “You think Jacob Welles would do any different?”

  “Jake’s got no reason to lie to anyone,” Eli said. “When I see him again, he’ll look me straight in the eye and tell me why he did what he did. If I don’t like it, he’ll either laugh at me or shoot me and be done with it.”

  “What about the one-eyed fella?”

  “His name’s Hank.”

  “All right, then. What about Hank?”

  Eli’s stare became cold and sharp enough to cut through the window in front of him. “That’s easy. Whoever sees the other one first will be the one to walk away.”

  “Well, nobody’s walking anywhere. Not tonight, anyhow. After tomorrow, we won’t be riding anywhere either. We’re taking a train to Cheyenne and our diversion to that ranch will buy us plenty of time to get there. Whatever move your old gang is making, they won’t do it until their third man gets back. And if they truly are getting set to rob a big shipment from them well-armed rich fellas, they ain’t about to do it shorthanded.”

  “Do you even truly know who those rich fellas are, apart from some men with interests in a big company?”

  “Would you need to know more than that if you aimed to steal from them?”

  “I’d need to know a few more bits of information,” Eli said, “but I see your point. When’d you find out about the train schedule?”

  “Same time I paid for this room. There’s a station less than a day’s ride from here, and lots of folks stop by on their way to it. There was a schedule at the front desk. Paid a little extra for a boy who works at this hotel to run a few errands for me and buy some supplies. They’ll be brought up at around the same time as our supper.”

  “Room service?”

  “Steaks,” Saunders said with an expression that was only missing a string of drool running from the corner of his mouth.

  “You really went all out.”

  “Plenty of cash in that box your friend dug up at that ranch. I figure we’re putting it to good use by funding our ride to Cheyenne. Whatever’s left will be put in the collection plate at the church back home.”

  Eli shook his head and laughed under his breath. “If that’s what you think is wise.”

  Until that moment, Saunders had been relaxing on the soft bed with one leg up and the other dangling over its side. His back had been resting against the headboard until he sat bolt upright and swung his leg over so both feet were pressed against the floor. “You think that money would be better spent at cathouses and saloons?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, but you’re laughing at me with that damn tone in your voice and I don’t like it.”

  “Not laughing. It’s just that…carrying that kind of money…a town like this…”

  “You think I don’t know how to take care of myself?” Saunders growled.

  So there was no mistaking his sincerity, Eli turned around to face the lawman and held up both hands to pat the air reassuringly as he said, “I know you can handle yourself. I just meant—”

  “You meant I can’t watch over a bit of money? Like because I have to get by on a pittance of a wage, I ain’t never handled money like that before?”

  “Well…”

  Saunders jabbed the air with his finger to emphasize each of his next words. “Shut yer mouth before I do it for you.”

  Eli shut his mouth.

  “Make yourself useful and help me count the rest of this money. After that, I want you to tell me everything you know about Jacob Welles and whoever’s left in his gang. Is there more than just that one-eyed fella left?”

  “You mean Hank?”

  “Right. Hank. What’s his last name?”

  “Only thing I ever called him besides Hank was scarecrow and he didn’t like that very much,” Eli said. “Truth be told, I couldn’t even tell you if Hank is his proper name.”

  “Is he the sort who would strike a deal with them rich fellas the way Cody was talking about?”

  “Yes,” Eli replied without a blink. “And it wouldn’t be the first time.”

  After a slight pause, Saunders walked up to the window and stared directly into Eli’s eyes. “You still up for this job?”

  “Might as well be. I don’t have much time left on this earth, so I may as well make the best of it.”

  “Don’t give me that hogwash. I know when a man ain’t got nothin’ left to live for, and that ain’t you no more.”

  “Right, because I want to ride by your side on this glorious, righteous job of yours.”

  Saunders shook his head. “You ain’t looking to me when it comes to finding a reason to live. It’s about that sweet face that’s been in your head ever since you got that first home-cooked breakfast in my jailhouse.”

  “You talking about Lyssa?”

  The sheriff’s grin widened even more, which seemed peculiar considering the foul mood he’d been in a few moments ago. “Just the fact that you recall her name tells me she means something more to you than just the woman who brought your meals.”

  “Another reason I brought up my condition at all is that you need to know that I may not be around to back you up once we get to where we’re going. The least I can do is prepare you for everything you might have to face. Now, are we going to keep talking about Lyssa or do you want to hear more about the men who will be trying to kill you in another day or two?”

  Nodding with the brand of smug satisfaction that had become the lawman’s signature, Saunders said, “Go on and tell me about that gang. We’ll need to know everything we can when we wade into Cheyenne.”

  “And what happens after that, Sheriff?”

  “Pardon?”

  “Let’s say we get to Cheyenne on schedule with everything going our way, and that may be asking for a lot, but what then? Even though there’s only two of them, it won’t be easy locking horns with the likes of Jake and Hank.”

  “Never thought it would be easy.”

  “There’ll be shooting and when there’s shooting, there’s bleeding. Could be your blood. Could be mine. Most likely it’ll be a little of both.”

  “You knew that going in, Eli.”

  “Yes, sir, I did. For us to make it out of there alive, it’s going to take a whole lot of work and no small amount of pain. What’s so funny?”

  Although Saunders was laughing, it wasn’t a jovial sort of thing. Instead, he mused to himself while taking in the sight of the man in front of him. “When I came to you about this job before, you were just interested in getting out of that cage and probably thinking of when you could get the drop on me so you could scamper away to take your chances on your own.”

  Whethe
r he’d been thinking along those lines or not, Eli knew better than to waste breath in arguing.

  “Now,” the lawman continued, “you’re thinking about what might happen after the job’s over.”

  “So…what will happen?”

  “Depends on how the job goes. If you’re asking me about what things might look like between you and Lyssa…”

  Eli gritted his teeth and stared out the window just so he wasn’t facing the sheriff.

  “Well,” Saunders said, “that’s between you and her. She’s a good woman.”

  “I know that much.”

  “She deserves to have someone watch out for her well-being. At the moment, that someone is me. I won’t let her ride off with no thief or piece-of-trash criminal. Any scoundrel who tries that will have one more gun to contend with.” After letting that hang in the air like a storm cloud for another few seconds, Saunders made his way back to the bed, where he plopped down and swung both feet onto the mattress. “Now let’s hear about that gang of yours.”

  Chapter 13

  They talked for hours. Just when Eli thought he’d rattled off all he knew about Jake, Hank, or Cody, Saunders asked him about something else. The sheriff wanted to know everything from the gang’s preferences for picking its targets all the way down to the eating habits of its members. When Eli told him another detail, Saunders nodded and soaked it up as if he’d just gotten the keys to the kingdom.

  By the time they were both too tired to speak another word to each other, Eli and Saunders were on friendly terms. Not friendly enough, however, for the lawman to allow Eli to sleep without being chained to something solid. He chose to loop the handcuffs through a metal post in the bed’s frame. It might not have been nailed down, but the slightest move Eli made was announced by the clanking of chains or the scrape of wood against floor.

  It was just past dawn when Eli awoke. He twisted his hands within the cuffs so he could grab the chain and hold it away from the frame so he could shift his weight. Even that caused a creak within the bed itself, so he became still again and watched the form that was collapsed on a chair in the corner adjacent to the window. Apart from the occasional grunt or scratch, Saunders hadn’t moved much since he’d fallen asleep in that spot.

  Eli closed his eyes because they weren’t doing him much good at the moment. What he needed was information on the bed frame, and since his hearing or sense of touch was all he could use, those were what he focused on. Only allowing the chain to graze the post around which it was wrapped, he eased it down its length in the hope that he might find an imperfection or opening that he’d missed during all of his other attempts throughout the night. The post was smooth until it became chipped closer to the floor. There, it snagged on the chain to make a subtle creak that echoed in Eli’s ears worse than a gunshot.

  He looked over to Saunders and found the sheriff was in the same spot as before. Unfortunately, so was Eli.

  The outlaw stretched his arms until his shoulders ached.

  He arched his back to give himself some more slack, which only made the bed creak again.

  Saunders still hadn’t moved.

  Eli fought the impulse to curse and wildly thrash against his restraints. Times like this made him feel like a dog running at full speed until the rope around its neck was snapped taut. Almost immediately after catching its breath, that dog would take another run. Knowing he’d only be harming his cause by acting so wild, Eli drew a breath, relaxed his muscles, and collected himself.

  “Give up yet?”

  Eli looked toward the source of that all-too-familiar voice. “How long have you been awake?”

  “About an hour, maybe. Thought I’d sit still and rest up awhile longer. Usually I get anxious, but you were putting on a good enough show to keep me occupied. Find a way out of them cuffs yet? Maybe a gaping hole in that bed frame that I missed?”

  “Remember what I said about wanting to see Jake get his due for stabbing me in the back?”

  “Yeah,” the sheriff grunted while stretching his arms and legs.

  “Forget it. I hope he shoots you somewhere that hurts.”

  “Aw, you don’t mean that.”

  “Right,” Eli snapped. “Goodwill to all. Now unlock these things so I can get some breakfast!”

  Saunders kept his chuckling as he fit a key into the cuffs and allowed Eli to sit up straight. Since they hadn’t taken anything out of their saddlebags, there was nothing to pack. All he needed to do was check the floor around the spot where he’d spread out the money from the strongbox for it to be counted. He stuck wads of bills in various pockets, some into his saddlebag, and the rest was split in half and stuffed into each of his boots.

  “That came in a box,” Eli reminded him. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to keep it there?”

  “Safer this way,” Saunders said. “Trust me.”

  “If you think so. Is today the day I get a round or two for my pistol?”

  “You still have that thing?”

  “Yes! It may not be loaded, but me and this gun have been through a lot together. I ain’t about to—”

  “Hand it over.”

  Eli blinked as if he’d just been rapped on the nose. “Hand it over? It ain’t even loaded.”

  “Bullets aren’t exactly scarce. Hand it over.”

  “You don’t think you’d know if I found some bullets? That’s not saying a lot about you as a sheriff, now, is it?”

  Keeping his hand out, Saunders said, “And we’ve both proven to be pretty darn handy using a pistol as a club. If you make me ask you one more time to hand yours over, I’ll give you another demonstration.”

  Eli sighed and reached for the empty .38 tucked into his holster. “I was surprised you let me carry that thing for this long.”

  “Consider it a test. If you decided to try your luck at any time by making one wrong move toward that gun or anything else, your ride would have ended real quick and those angry folks back in Seedley would have been real proud of their sheriff.”

  “You would have killed me?”

  “That shouldn’t surprise you either.”

  It didn’t, but Eli wasn’t about to give the lawman the satisfaction of hearing him say as much. “I handed over those weapons I took from Cody, didn’t I?”

  “You sure did, which means you passed that test with flying colors.”

  “And what happens when we find someone who needs to be shot?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For right now, just enjoy being outside a cage and take comfort from knowing I’ll stick to my word. You proved to be amicable enough this far, but don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I’m still watching you, Eli.”

  “I know. Only time I saw you so much as twitch was when you were asleep. Now I ain’t even sure how accurate that was.”

  Saunders handed over the saddlebags for Eli to carry down to the horses. On the way out of the hotel, they bought a breakfast of fresh biscuits, ham, and some coffee in a pair of little tin pails so they could carry it with them on their way out of town. They ate in their saddles, shoveling in the food while washing it down with coffee that sloshed around in dented tin cups to spill as much onto their faces and shirts as they got into their mouths. Once they’d both finished, they gripped their reins and started riding in earnest.

  It was just shy of half a day’s ride to the train station in a little town called Mayor’s Crossing. They meant to catch a train that pulled into town at five o’clock on its way to Cheyenne. Considering that Cody had been trying to collect his money the previous day and wasn’t carrying a train ticket in his pockets, it was likely he’d intended to ride to Cheyenne on his own. That meant Jake and Hank shouldn’t be expecting him for a few more days. The schedule was coming together and Saunders was confident in their chances of getting to Cheyenne and rounding up the gang before Jake or Hank knew anything was amiss. He was so confident, in fact, that he missed one particular fact along the way.

  “Someone’s follow
ing us,” Eli said.

  Riding beside him, the lawman had his sights set firmly on the trail ahead. When he looked back now, Saunders spotted what had captured Eli’s attention. “You mean that trail of dust behind us?” the sheriff asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Could be someone that just happens to be riding in this direction. Mayor’s Crossing isn’t far and it’s the closest train station, after all.”

  “That dust was getting kicked up behind us since we left town,” Eli pointed out.

  “Could be strange timing.”

  “Or it could be someone’s following us.”

  Saunders slowed his horse to a leisurely stroll so he could twist around and get a better look. The dust trail hung in the air farther back along the same path he and Eli had taken when they’d traversed that same stretch. Now that he was watching it closer, he could tell that whatever was kicking up that dirt was indeed headed their way. “Doesn’t look like a stage,” he said.

  “But it’s more than just one horse.”

  After a few more seconds, Saunders grunted, “Can’t get worked up about everyone we encounter. Like my mama used to say, it’s no use worrying until there’s something to worry about.” When he shifted back around, Saunders let out a slow, grating sigh.

  With his eyes still glued to the trail behind him, Eli asked, “What is it now?”

  “We may have something to worry about.”

  Eli turned in his saddle to find another dust cloud being kicked up in front of them. This one was coming from a flat stretch of land off the trail and would cross their path in a matter of minutes. It hadn’t been there before, which meant whoever was coming at them from that direction was doing so as quickly as possible. “Maybe someone’s in trouble?” Eli offered.

  A gunshot cracked through the air, sending a round hissing about a yard away from the sheriff’s head. “Someone is in trouble,” he said. “That’d be us.”

  “I’d like to be a help to you, Sheriff, but I’d need a gun for that.”

  “Just shut up and get riding.”