Bowdrie's Law (Ss) (1983)

by L'amour, Louis

  At almost the instant she got into the saddle, the dark figure of a man showed against the lighted window opposite, then vanished. As Bowdrie started for the gate himself, he saw the man mount and ride after the girl. Where could she be going at such an hour? Who was following her?

  Stepping quickly into the stable, Bowdrie saddled and bridled the roan. Gathering the reins, he stepped into the saddle and followed them down the trail, keeping to the grassy shoulder. Within a few minutes he glimpsed the man ahead; then he seemed to vanish.

  Worried, Bowdrie reached the spot only to discover that the desert broke away into the steep bank of a wash. Starting down the side, he glimpsed the outline of a rider against the night, a rider some distance off, but who could only be Chiquita. What had become of the man following her?

  Glancing right and left into the deeper shadows, he decided that rider must have ridden either up or down the wash, knowing perhaps that this wash intvrcepted the trail farther along. Bowdrie chose to follow Chiquita:up the steep opposite bank.

  She rode straight on as though to t goal, and Chick had an idea of whom she planned to meet.

  They rode for nearly an hour; then a faint glimmer of firelight showed. By now they were in a' remote region of canyons and weird rock formations where such a fire could not be seen for any distance. Bowdrie, following warily, glimpsed it only occasionally when he topped out on high ground or when the rocks stood apart to offer greater visibility. Chiquita rode directly to the fire and slid from her horse.

  Bowdrie studied the terrain. What had become of the rider []who followed her? Had that rider realized Bowdrie was behind them?

  Tying the roan to a mesquite bush, he crept through the cacti and mesquite until he could, from behind a rock, overlook the situation.

  The young Mexican who held the girl in his arms could only be a henchman of Zaparo's.

  They were talking in Spanish but the air was clear and Bowdrie was close enough to hear every word.

  "It is what you feared," she was saying. "Something has happened! Zaparo is dead!

  All of them are dead! They were attacked by other outlaws and killed! All of them!"

  "Zaparo? But how? Who could have known their way?"

  "The gringo with the black hat, the one who looks like an Apache, he says it was Juan Piron who betrayed them."

  "Ah? I am not surprised. But he was killed also?"

  "The gringo says they are all dead, that they had no further use for Piron, and did not trust him. And now they have the loot!"

  "I care nothing for that!" he said indignantly. "But Zaparo!

  There was a man! He was my friend, also, and to be betrayed by such a man?"

  "The gringo wishes to talk to you. He promises you no harm. He wishes only to find the gringo outlaws."

  The Mexican shook his head. "I know nothing, Chiquita!" Their voices became lower, and then after a quick kiss Chiquita gave him a package of food and got back into the saddle. Turning her horse, she rode into darkness.

  Bowdrie was in a quandary. Here was his chance to talk to the young Mexican, and there might never be another. On the other hand, the unknown rider might follow Chiquita.

  Had he also overheard? Or had he come this far?

  He made his decision quickly. He would do both.

  He spoke, hoping his voice would carry no farther than the young Mexican. "Stand where you are! I am a friend!"

  The Mexican rooted himself in his tracks, but turned slowly to face him.

  "I am the gringo Chiquita mentioned, and I must talk with you, but we must ride also, for Chiquita is in danger."

  "Chiquita? In danger? I will get my horse."

  Warily Chick watched him go, then circled the fire beyond the reach of its light.

  He saw no good place where a watcher might have been, and if there had been one, he was gone.

  "Leave the fire. There is nothing for it to burn and there is no time."

  Bowdrie led the way; then the Mexican closed up beside him and Bowdrie explained about the follower he had glimpsed. Then he asked, "What do you know of Piron?"

  "He was cousin to Zaparo but I did not trust him. I followed once when he met with two men, but could not see their faces. Zaparo would not believe he was a traitor.

  He became very angry with me."

  "How did it happen you were not with them?"

  "My father, sehor, he is ill. When he became better I rode to see Chiquita, but also hoping she could tell what happened to Zaparo. He had been gone too long, and at the cantina they hear everything."

  Suddenly they heard a scream, quickly choked off. The young Mexican slapped spurs to his horse and was gone like a shot. Bowdrie could only follow.

  He saw them suddenly, two struggling figures in the road, but at the sound of the rushing horses the man threw the girl from him and grabbed for his pistol. Chick drew and fired, and the man dropped his gun and staggered, dropping to his knees.

  Bowdrie hit the ground on the run and saw the young Mexican go to Chiquita. She fell into his arms, moaning with fright, and Chick struck a match with his thumbnail.

  The wounded man was Hawkins.

  "What did you jump me for?" Hawkins did not seem badly hurt, but it was too dark to see. "Can't a feller have a little fun without you hornin' in?"

  "Not when the girl doesn't want him," Bowdrie replied.

  "Huh! You'd help one of Zaparo's outlaws rather'n an American?" The moon, rising nout above the mountain ridge, provided small light. How, Bowdrie wondered, had Hawkins known the Mexican was one of Zaparo's gang? Such gossip might be going around, of course. Still...

  "Mount up," he said. "We'll ride back to the cantina. And you, Hawkins, consider yourself my prisoner."

  "Me?" Hawkins was startled. "A prisoner? What for?"

  "Mount up," Bowdrie replied. "I think you're just the man I've been lookin' for."

  Hawkins became suddenly quiet. "So?" he said. Nor did he utter another word during the ride back to the cantina. Bowdrie took him through a back way, guided by Chiquita, to one of Padilla's spare rooms, where he handcuffed him to the bed.

  Bowdrie's hasty shot had done little damage. It had, judging from a quick examination, hit Hawkins's large belt buckle at an angle, glanced off, and ripped his shirt at the elbow, scratching the skin and momentarily numbing his arm and hand.

  "You were lucky," Bowdrie said briefly, "or maybe you weren't, depending on whether you prefer a bullet to a rope."

  "What's that mean?" Hawkins demanded.

  Leaving him handcuffed, Bowdrie went into the cantina, where Broughten was watching a poker game and a half-dozen others were hanging about. One of them was Ferd Cassidy.

  Chick nodded to him. "When you get ready to ride," he commented, "don't wait for Hawkins. He's under arrest."

  Broughten turned sharply and Cassidy put his glass down on the table.

  "What's he done?" Cassidy asked.

  "He followed one of Padilla's girls into the desert and got rough with her." Bowdrie paused, then added, "While I have him, I'd better speak to him on some other matters."

  "What matters?" Cassidy's eyes were cold and ugly.

  There was a tenseness in the man that went beyond what could be expected. Suddenly Bowdrie was wondering. Why not the K-Bar outfit? A tough lot, close to the scene, yet so far as he knew, nothing of the kind had ever been held against them before.

  Of course, there was always the first time, and if they were tipped off to the amount of loot . . .

  A man came in the door, glanced around, taking in the tableau with casual interest; then he sat down at a table near the door. He was young, blond, and wiry-looking.

  Nobody seemed to notice his arrival.

  "Just a little investigation," Bowdrie replied. "Hawkins knew that Pablo, Chiquita's riend, was one of the Zaparo outfit. We're trying to learn all we can about Zaparo, and I'm curious as to how he knows."

  The room was very still. Two Mexican cowhands who had been standing at the bar quietly l
eft, and an older man with gray chin whiskers eased himself off his chair, and putting on his hat, went out a side door.

  "Thought all of Zaparo's outfit were dead," Cassidy said. "Looked like it," Bowdrie replied, "but it seems some of them were suspicious of Juan Piron. They'd seen him talkin' with some gringos, and it didn't look good to them."

  Cassidy shrugged. "Well, whatever, but don't hold him longer than you need to. We've got work to do."

  The K-Bar boys left, mounted, and rode away. Bowdrie went to the bar and ordered a beer, turning the matter over in his mind. There was small chance the cowhand would talk, and a better-than-even chance he had nothing to tell. It might be nothing more than a cowhand going after a girl he believed might listen to him.

  Bowdrie had an unhappy feeling that he was making a fool of himself. Certainly he would no longer be welcome at the K-Bar. Ranch hands were clannish, and a move against one of their number was a move against all. Yet he could not rid himself of the notion that he had a fingerhold on the problem.

  Leaving his beer only half-finished, he went to his room, and was passing the spare room where he had left Hawkins when he heard a scurry of movement. Drawing his gun, he flung the door open and was just in time to see Hawkins going out the window.

  He grabbed for him with his left hand.

  He caught the corner of a hip pocket and it ripped. The pocket tore away and something tinkled on the floor. Hawkins was out the window, sprawling on the ground. Scrambling to his feet, the bald-headed man started to run as Chick jumped through the window.

  As he hit the ground he thought he heard a low voice speaking to Hawkins; then a gun flashed and a bullet struck near him. Bowdrie fired in return at two indistinct riders. Two guns barked and a bullet nicked his arm, spoiling his last shot.

  There was a pound of raing hooves, then silence. Moving with care, Bowdrie started toward where he had last seen Hawkins and saw the body of a man sprawled on the hard-packed earth in the pale, greenish light from the risen moon.

  Waiting a moment, he listened but heard no sound. Kneeling, he struck a match.

  The dead man was Hawkins. Hawkins had been wounded in the exchange of gunfire, but despairing of getting him away, somebody had put a gun to his head and blown his brains out.

  Now men were coming from the cantina. Padilla and Pablo came up. Bowdrie motioned to the dead man and the obvious powder burns. "Looks like they killed him so he couldn't talk," he commented.

  Which was foolish of them, for their actions spoke as loudly and clearly as anything Hawkins might have said. Their killing of him implied Hawkins would or might have had something to say. It pointed a finger at his killers and at the K-Bar.

  Once in the spare room, Bowdrie lighted a candle and looked around. Something had fallen from Hawkins's pocket to the floor, but the first thing he found was the handcuffs.

  The lock had been opened either with a key or a lock-pick.

  A gleam caught his eye, and on his knees, he retrieved a bright object from under the edge of the bed. It was a gold ring with an amethyst setting. It was a ring described in the list of loot stolen by Zaparo.

  Hawkins, evidently thinking of Chiquita, had held out the ring as a gift to her for favors he hoped to receive. Obviously he had not known of her commitment to Pablo.

  Chick slipped the ring into his pocket. He must work fast now. He crossed the patio on the run. The blond newcomer was at the bar. He turned as Bowdrie entered.

  "Rip! How many came with you?"

  "Deming an' Armstrong. Ain't that enough?"

  "Get 'em an' come on! I'm headed for the K-Bar. If there's a fight this time, it will be something to write your girl about, believe me."

  Once in the saddle, he let the roan have his head. The hammerhead outlaw knew when his master was in a hurry and he could set his own pace.

  The K-Bar outfit might try to bluff it out or they might not even expect trouble.

  What he was hoping was that they would try to move the loot or get to where it was.

  The ranch itself was the logical place, of course, as it was one of the few places the mules could be taken without arousing suspicion or interest. Pack animals in such numbers do not just vanish from sight.

  Rip Coker would be along with the two Rangers accompanying him. Bowdrie had spotted him the moment he entered the cantina, and realized McNelly had sent them along to help.

  When he drew near the K-Bar he slowed the roan to a walk, keeping to the soft shoulder of the road, hoping a hoof would not strike stone. The other Rangers were not far behind, but speed was of first importance.

  There was activity near a stack of hay, and some mules with packsaddles were being loaded. Three men were in sight as he approached, and he could hear cursing. There were lights on in the house. Was Katch involved too? Or was it only the ranch hands?

  Chick Bowdrie stepped down from his horse. "You stand," he warned, "but if I yell, come a-runnin'."

  The roan was already dozing, accustomed to such moments but prepared to take what rest he could get.

  The other Rangers closed in and Bowdrie explained what he had in mind and then moved off, stepping softly and hoping his spurs would not jingle. t When he reached the back of the well-house, he took a quick glance about, then walked across to the back door of the ranch house. He had been in the house too many times before not to know his way. He crossed the kitchen, hearing a murmur of voices from the living room. Walking softly behind the chairs in the big dining room, he reached the door and paused to listen. The door stood open but he was well back and out of sight.

  "Forget it, Cassidy!" Katch was saying. "You're jumpy! If Hawkins is dead, he can't talk. That fool Ranger will think one of his own shots killed him. He likes to believe he's good with a six-shooter."

  "Maybe you're right," Cassidy replied doubtfully, "but maybe he knows too much. After all, he knew about Piron. How could he find out about him?"

  "Don't get the wind up," Katch replied carelessly. "This is foolproof."

  ,,K. Atch got up and stretchl. In the dim light he looked enormous.

  I told the boys to load the stuff so's we could move it," Cassidy said.

  Katch brought his arms down slowly. "You what?"

  His tone was low but there was something so deadly in it that Bowdrie felt his | scalp tighten. "It seemed the thing to do. If they search the place, they'll find nothing." Katch's tone was mild. "Ferd, if they did search, they'd never think to look in that haystack. Besides, the Rangers know me. I'm their friend. If that loot starts paradin' around in the moonlight, somebody is sure enough goin' to see it."

  . I Cassidy had his hands fiat on the table. "I'll go tell 'em to put it back," he said. "I guess I acted too fast.'" "That's your trouble, Ferd. You're too jumpy.

  I don't like men who get jumpy, Ferd. You're a good man on a job, smooth as silk and cold as ice, but when we ain't workin' you're too easy to upset. Besides, I don't like men who give orders without consultin' me.

  "I'm right sorry," Cassidy said. "You ain't mad, are you, boss?" His features were sallow in the dim light, and suddenly Bowdrie knew what was about to happen. Big Tom Katch was playing with his lieutenant as a cat plays with a mouse. Katch knew that Cassidy was on edge. He led him on now, building him to a crisis.

  "No, I'm not mad, Ferd. Not mad at all." Katch smiled. "I just don't need you anymore, Ferd."

  The words fell softly in the room and for a moment there was utter silence as the words sank into Ferd Cassidy's brain. Realization hit him like a blow. His eyes seemed to flare and he went for his gun. And Tom Katch shot him.

  He had held the gun at his side, turned half away, so Ferd Cassidy, expecting no trouble here, had not even noticed.

  Bowdrie stepped softly into the room, so softly that Tom Katch did not hear it. The big man was staring at the dying Cassidy with amused contempt. Katch holstered his gun.

  Then his eyes lifted and his peripheral vision seemed to catch a glimpse of Bowdrie.

  He turned his
head.

  Bowdrie saw the shock in Katch's eyes, then a slow smile. He had to admire the man, for it had taken only that instant to adjust to the changed situation.

  "How are you, Chick? I've been havin' some trouble with my foreman, seems like. He and some of the boys been doin' some outside jobs I didn't know about."

  "I don't buy it, Katch. You can't lay it on them alone. You're the boss here. Yours is the brain. From the beginning I knew there was something I should remember. Something that hung in the back of my mind trying to be remembered.

  "It didn't come to me until I saw that those handcuffs had been opened with a lock-pick.

  Then I realized who Cassidy was. When I knew who he was, I knew who you were."

  "Don't tell me I was on your Ranger list of wanted men. I never saw Texas until a few years back, and I've lived right here all that time."

  "What about Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio, and Nebraska? Four big jobs, four clean jobs, except for one thing. The gent that saw you on the platform at the railroad station in Dodge City.

  "It just happened that a little fat drummer was standin' [here who had known you in Memphis. Big Tom Caughter, the smartest crook of them all, the man who never left a witness and always got away with the loot. Ferd Cassidy was Lonnie Webb, a Kansas boy with a gift for picking locks, other people's locks."

  Katch was thinking. Bowdrie could almost see his mind working, and this was a shrewd, dangerous man. Always before he had gotten away with it. No trail, no witnesses, no evidence. Four big jobs, and this was to be the fifth.

  Katch shrugged. "Well, I guess a man can't win 'em all. With the money I've got cached I can be out in a couple of years."

  "Sounds easy, doesn't it?" Bowdrie said. "But what about the killings?"

  "You mean Zaparo? You can't prove I was there. As a matter of fact, I wasn't. Anyway, no jury is going to hang me for killing a few Mexican outlaws."

  "I wasn't thinking of Zaparo. I was thinking of Ferd Cassidy. That was a cold-blooded killing. I saw it."

  "Oh? So that's the way it is?" Katch eyed him with a steady, assured gaze. "Then we don't need a witness. When you die, who else will know?"

  "The Rangers are outside waitin' for my signal," Bowdrie said. "Your boys are already rounded up, and without a shot fired. I was waiting to hear, but there never was a one. Now I'll take you."