by Liz Harris
‘Not again!’ Conn exclaimed.
‘Yup, again. Despite the chill in the air, the carcasses were still warm so they knew that the hunters were around and they kept a watchful eye. They were just about to go over one of the hills when they heard a load of hollerin’. They stopped where they were, got off their horses and went real carefully up the hill. Keepin’ their heads low so’s not to be seen, they peered over the top and saw the strangers I mentioned. They were in the saddle, huddled in a group, talking to each other and pointing in various directions.’
‘How close were Jeb and his men to them? Could they see their faces or were they just guessing who they were?’
‘They were some way off, but not so far that they didn’t recognise some of them as men they’d seen in town. And they were close enough see the hides slung over the horses’ backs. But the strangers outnumbered them, and they had guns. Jeb wasn’t gonna let anyone take any chances and they stayed put till the hunters had gone. All but one of the hunters went towards the deserted claims north west of Liberty. It’s where we’d thought they might be staying. The one who didn’t go with the others headed for town.’
‘You’re gonna say you think it was Niall, aren’t you?’
‘I sure hate having to tell you this, Conn, but it was Niall. Niall all but grew up on the Barnes’s Ranch. He and Jeb have been friends since they were young lads. It hurt Jeb to have to tell us this about someone who’d been a close friend. You can be sure he wouldn’t have said it unless he was plumb certain.’
‘But the man would have had his back to them as he rode. And he’d have been a long way off.’
‘Think about it, Conn. Jeb knows the way Niall holds himself in the saddle, the way he uses his right arm when he rides. And Jeb knew the horse. Niall hung around him a bit in the early days after he got back. Jeb would know Niall’s horse anywhere.’
‘What about the cattle stealing? Do you think it was the same gang, with Niall involved in that, too?’
‘More likely than not, I’d say. I reckon they’ve not been fussy how they got their money. Animals they could sell on, they stole. Animals they couldn’t sell, but with hides they could sell, they skinned. They’re intent on taking everything they can, no matter what they have to do to get it. When a gang like that finishes with an area, they move on somewhere else.’
‘I’m not excusing Niall, but he lost everything he had in the last winter. I reckon that set him on this road.’
‘A lot of other people also lost their life’s work. But this is a growing country and there’s work to be had for those who are prepared to start building their lives again, no matter how hard it is. But that’s not the way of Niall and his friends. They’ve been goin’ for a fast, easy buck.’
‘Do what you’ve gotta do, Doc. Like I say, I’m not excusing Niall. What he’s doing is wrong and he’s gotta be stopped. They all have. I’ll ride out after the hunters with you.’
‘I appreciate you wanting to support us, Conn. This can’t be easy for you. Like I said, Jeb spotted them a few days ago. We had enough men and we couldn’t have got to you in time. What’s more, we couldn’t risk making them suspicious. We had a chance of catching the gang and stopping the carnage, and we had to take it.’
Connor sat straighter and stared hard at the doctor. ‘What are you sayin’?’
‘As soon as Jeb filled us in, the sheriff sent a couple of men to watch Niall. If he’d left town again, they’d have done their best to follow him and see where he went. But he didn’t. He went from the saloon to his lodgings and stayed there all night. First thing this morning, the sheriff went over and charged him. He couldn’t risk Niall seein’ groups of men gathering in town, guns in their belts. He had no choice. You know that, don’t you, Conn?’
Connor nodded.
‘But it’s the people doin’ the organisin’ that we really wanted, and the sheriff told Niall that whatever happened, he’d be charged and go before the district court next week. But he said they’d go easier on him if he gave us the names of the gang and told us where they could be found.’ He paused. ‘I’m sorry, Conn. He’s your brother and I know this must hurt.’
‘You had to do the right thing. I appreciate you telling me this, and also giving Niall the chance to make things better for himself. So what did he choose to do?’
‘He gave us their names. The sheriff left Zack Carter with him in his lodgings so he couldn’t warn the hunters, and a posse rode out with the sheriff, took the varmints by surprise and got them all. We figured that because it was Saturday, with more folk moving around before the snows came, going into town and the like, the hunters had felt there was a greater risk of being seen, and they’d stayed put. One of the hunters was hurt, but he’ll live. They’ve been thrown into jail and they’ll be transferred to Laramie tomorrow.’
‘And Niall? Am I gonna be able to see him?’
‘We’ve left Zack with him.’ The doctor gave him a wry smile. ‘We figured it wouldn’t be a good idea to throw him into jail with his former friends. You can see him tomorrow morning. I told him I’d come by and tell you what happened and I promised we wouldn’t move him until you’d had a chance to see him. We thought you’d wanna say goodbye, whatever he’d done.’
‘You thought right.’ He linked his fingers behind his head and looked up at the ceiling.
‘Out of respect to your family, Conn, the townsfolk will be careful what they say about Niall, especially in front of their children.’
‘I appreciate that, Doc.’ He looked back at the doctor. ‘I know you told me Niall said he knew the men from way back and was surprised when they turned up here. Do you reckon that’s what happened, that he was here, bored, and they turned up in the saloon, recognised each other, started drinking together and later they sensed he could be one of them and encouraged him to hitch up with him? Or do you think he came back, knowing they would be coming here and that he’d be helping them? That when he went to the ranches around, like the Barnes’s ranch, saying he wanted work, he was really just checking out what there was to steal?’
‘I guess we’ll never know, but I’m inclined to think that he wouldn’t have spent time with you and your family if he’d come here intendin’ to slaughter animals. And he wouldn’t have taken lodgings. He would have stayed out at the claim with the men. Nope, if I had to say one way or the other, I’d say he met them here, was at a loose end and was attracted by their offer of easy money. Knowing Niall, he’d have found a certain excitement in the whole thing.’
Connor nodded. ‘I’d like to think it was like that, too.’ He paused. ‘You don’t think Oonagh knew what Niall had gotten into, do you?’
Their eyes met. The doctor dropped his eyes first.
‘We did wonder,’ he said. ‘They were often seen talkin’ to each other. But they’ve been friends for years so that doesn’t mean a thing. He didn’t say a word about her so we’ll never know.’ He glanced in the direction of the kitchen, and then looked back at Connor. ‘I reckon you did well when you took that lady to be your wife. Yup, I reckon you did at that.’
The sound of the doctor’s buggy was receding into the distance when Connor walked out into the backyard, stood still, his hands deep in his jacket pockets, and looked to his left. The corrals were empty now that the cows had been shut away for the winter and all the horses had been put in the shed behind East Barn. It was depressing not to be able to see animals around the place. The farm was as much the animals as the crops to him, and he missed seeing them whenever he stepped out of the house.
And the thought that he was unlikely to see Niall again after the following morning made it all seem more depressing than ever.
He started to walk slowly towards East Barn. Niall hadn’t been part of his life for years, and when he had returned, he’d spent as much time in the town as he had at the homestead – more so, in fact – so there was no obvious reason why he should feel any regret that he wouldn’t be seeing him again, but regret it he did. Mayb
e it was the thought of his folks, and how unhappy this would have made them, that made him feel so wretched.
And there was Bridget, who would have to know the truth within a day or two at the most. The children would soon hear it from their folks and were sure to taunt her about her uncle’s part in the killings. He didn’t look forward to telling her the truth. In the short amount of time she’d known Niall, she’d come to love him. And she loved animals. What he’d done would be a tremendous shock to her, and the whole thing was bound to upset her greatly.
He reached East Barn and stood for a few moments at the entrance, watching Bridget. Her head was bent low over the calf as she stroked its back. Aaron was standing above her, looking down at her.
‘You just keep lovin’ her, honey,’ he heard Aaron say. From Aaron’s tone of voice, he didn’t need to go closer to know that Daisy hadn’t yet responded to the treatment. ‘She’s a tough little thing. Don’t you give up hope.’
Bridget looked up at Aaron, and Connor saw that her face was streaked with tears. ‘She’s no better, Aaron. Can’t you do anything?’
He went up to them. ‘Not much change in her, then?’
Aaron glanced around at him. ‘Not yet. There’s time, though. She doesn’t look that lively, but she could rally. I guess we’ll know tomorrow.’
Connor stared down at Bridget’s grief-stricken face. He’d vaguely wondered whether he should tell her about Niall that evening, but seeing her already in such distress, he knew that he couldn’t. And there was no need to.
From what the doctor had said, it was unlikely that news about Niall’s part in the killing would have reached her school friends by the following morning. They’d hear it from their parents in the evening, and he could leave telling Bridget till then. By then, Daisy might have rallied a little. If so, Bridget would be feeling more cheerful in herself, and that would help.
‘It’s school tomorrow, Bridget. I want you to say good night to Daisy and come in with me.’
‘You go in and I’ll follow you. I promise.’
‘I think not. We’ll go back together. When you’ve gone, Aaron will top up her stall with clean straw, won’t you, Aaron?’
‘I sure will. She’ll be the warmest and most comfortable calf there ever was.’
She leaned forward and kissed the calf on its neck. ‘Night, Daisy,’ she whispered into its ear. ‘I’m gonna come and see you in the morning before I even have breakfast. You’ve gotta be better by then.’
She stood up. Connor picked up the scarf she’d dropped on the ground and wrapped it around her neck. ‘I have to take the wagon into town tomorrow so I’ll drive you to school.’
He saw the misery in her green eyes, and he took her hand. ‘Let’s go in and see Ellen,’ he said gently.
Ellen smoothed the blue lining of Bridget’s brown wool hood into position with her fingers and picked up her needle. Feeling Connor’s eyes on her, she looked up. His face was etched with sadness, and her heart ached for him. She paused. ‘I wish I knew what I could say to help you, Connor.’
‘There’s nothing to be said. It’s knowing what Niall did that’s weighing on me, and knowing I’ll be seeing him for the last time tomorrow.’
‘Of course it would,’ she said quietly. ‘He’s your family.’
He nodded. ‘Yup, he is. I shouldn’t feel anything for him after he left Alice and me like he did, and after the things he’s done since he returned, but I do, and it’s hurting.’
‘The pain will be less tomorrow night. Once you’ve said goodbye to him, and have spoken to Bridget, you’ll be able to start putting it all behind you. You’ll still feel sad when you think of him, but it won’t be as sharp in your side.’
She reached for her reel of cotton.
‘You’re right. It’s what’s in the future that’s important, not the past, and we’ve a future we can look forward to.’
‘Yes, we have.’ She smiled at him, then moved Bridget’s hood closer to the lamp and bent over it.
‘You hate sewing, don’t you?’ he said after a few minutes.
‘I guess it’s obvious from the way I’m doing this,’ she said with a rueful smile. ‘I noticed the lining was torn when Bridget took her coat off, and I don’t want it to get any worse. The idea of having to make a whole new lining is quite terrifying.’ She laughed and turned back to her work.
‘You mustn’t do anything more than mending in the future; not if it doesn’t please you.’
She gave an exaggerated sigh. ‘Alas, this is too cold an area in which to send a baby out without clothes.’
He grinned at her. ‘I agree.’
‘And as I fear that Bridget is no keener on plying the needle than I am, and since making clothes is a woman’s work, I must do it.’
She smiled across the table at him, checked that the lining was still in the correct position, and began to thread her needle.
‘But it’s a man’s work to provide for a woman, so you’ve got to let me provide for this in the future.’ He pointed to the hood on the table.
‘You do provide,’ she said in some surprise. She indicated around her. ‘You’ve provided me with a home that I’m very happy in.’
‘And I’ll also provide you with the clothes that we wear. And that our baby wears, too,’ he added. ‘In the spring, you can go to the new store that’s opened up in town, and buy our clothes there.’
She shook her head. ‘No, much as I dislike sewing, I’ll make our clothes as my mother did before me, and as I’m sure Alice did, too. Clothes made by other people are not something you should spend your money on. What kind of wife would I be if I let you waste your money?’
He leaned forward. ‘When my pa was a lad, his pa worked on a farm back east and they had to take on a lot of men to help with the harvest. They cut the wheat with a reaper. If they were lucky, they could cut as much as half an acre a day. Then men would then pitch the wheat on to a wagon, take it to the threshing area and using a flail, separate the grain from the stalks and husks. Now we use a thresher. It’s all done by a machine and a couple of horses. We get through everything quicker and more easily, and with fewer men. It means we save on wages and have more time for other tasks, and the horses and cows have more grazing time. That’s progress.’
‘I know that,’ Ellen said with a smile. ‘But why are you telling me?’
‘Because just as new ways of doing things are making farming easier for men, new ways are making it easier for women, too. If they let them. When I was a young lad, Ma used to make our soap and candles. Maybe in towns like Omaha, folks were already buying them back then, but not out here in Liberty. But by the time Ma had passed on, Massie’s was selling them, and she could buy them. It gave her more time for other things, and that’s good.’
She smiled. ‘I understand. Thank you. I’ll buy the baby’s clothes.’
‘All of our clothes, Ellen. You can buy them all.’
She stared at him in anxiety. ‘Do you have such money to spend?’
‘Aaron’s been checking the bales of hay. We’ve more than we need for animal feed so we’ll be selling the extra. We’ll also be selling a couple of colts. As Niall realised, they’ll bring in more than two hundred bucks apiece. Even with the money I’ve given Niall, by the time we’ve sold everything we don’t need, and bought coffee, rice, salt and anything else we can’t produce ourselves, plus any new tools we need, we’ll have money over. Buy the clothes, Ellen.’
‘I will. Thank you.’
‘If you say thank you again, I’ll take back the offer,’ he said with a laugh.
‘All right, I won’t. But you know that I feel it inside me.’
‘I do,’ he said quietly.
‘That’s done,’ she said a few moments later, cutting off the cotton. She straightened up, gathered her sewing things, put them in the basket, picked up the basket and stood up. ‘You’re looking very thoughtful,’ she said, staring down at him with concern. ‘Are you thinking about Niall again?’
She clutched her basket tightly to her.
‘Me, too,’ she said, feeling warmth rise to her face.
He stood up, took her basket from her hands, put it on the table and looked down at her.
‘And it isn’t just because of this,’ he said, and he ran his hand slowly across the front of her skirt, outlining the slight swell beneath the material. He dropped his hand. ‘It’s because of you and how you are.’
A deep silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of their breathing.
He moved closer to her and put his hands lightly on her shoulders. Looking down into her face, he began to lower his lips towards hers.
Panic welled up inside her. She stepped quickly back from him. ‘Don’t, Conn. There’s no need for you to do that for me to believe that you enjoy my company. No need at all. My face is ugly, and your lips might touch the edge of my scar. It wouldn’t be pleasant for you. I’ve never expected you to do this, and I never will.’
‘But I want to.’
‘I don’t want you to. If you want to please me, you won’t go further. It’d embarrass me.’
‘As I do want to please you, I’ll listen to you.’ He took her hand. ‘But I can’t always promise that I’ll obey you in the future. As you said yourself, men have a streak of stubbornness in them.’
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.
‘I guess I’ll have to make do with that,’ he said with a wry smile, dropping her hand and stepping back from her.
‘Thank you,’ she said. Holding her basket with both hands, she turned away.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Connor jumped down from the wagon and pulled the horses to the hitching post next to the trough of water. He tethered them, checked that the water in the trough hadn’t frozen and then walked across the rutted track to the sidewalk. Turning down by the side of the new clothes’ shop, he made his way towards Liberty Town Hall.
