Slocum and the Lone Star Feud

by Jake Logan

  “Good. Captain said I could count on you. Ladies, I sure enjoyed the hospitality and food. I’ll see you,” he said as he took his hat and Lopez showed him to the bunkhouse.

  “Ray, you be careful,” Sam told him as she hung on his arm. “This sheriff business could be very dangerous.”

  Slocum shared a private wink with Angela. Obviously Sam had some strong feelings for the boy. The two huddled up in a private conversation to the side. They wouldn’t make a bad team. She was two inches taller and bigger than he was, but that wouldn’t hurt either.

  “Where are you going?” Sam called after Slocum.

  “To find me a good fresh horse to ride tomorrow and make sure his shoes are on tight.”

  “Oh, yes, they found the remuda, didn’t they?”

  “They’re all safe in the corral,” Ray began.

  Slocum heard the two of them talking about the horses’ return as he went to the corral. A good big stout horse would be nice to have for what was coming. Rhoric would cut over a lot of country in the next few days. He’d pick the Ranger a good mount too. He wondered about Ray and Sam. He glanced back and saw they were still talking to each other on the porch.

  He took down a lariat, went in the pen, and cut himself out a big stout sorrel. He decided to check his shoes, and led him up to the barn. Angela joined him there.

  “Sounds to me like this Ranger is going to clean up this country in a few days,” Angela said, taking a place with her back to a pole as Slocum reset a hind shoe on the big sorrel.

  “He has plenty of ambition.”

  “Where will you go when this is over?” she asked, idly watching the fiery sunset.

  “Oh, up-country somewhere. I don’t stay long in one place. Got itchy feet. I’ve got an old buddy, Tabor Giles up at Dodge City, has a thousand steers that he’s fattening on grass this summer. He needs them drove up to Fort Robinson to the Sioux Agency this fall. I told him I’d drop by if I got a chance and consider the job.”

  “You going to need a cook for that outfit?”

  “If I take the job, sure.”

  “I may head up in the Nation. I can stay with some folks up on the Canadian.”

  “I have few dollars,” he offered.

  “No, I have some money Devereau never knew about. I’d like to cook for you.”

  “If I take the job and it works out—”

  “I know, Slocum. Ain’t nothing in our lives carved in stone, is there?”

  “No, there sure ain’t.” He dropped the hoof, satisfied the shoe was nailed tight, and straightened his stiff back. “You don’t have to run off.”

  “I know, but Sam and Ray are getting thick. I’m kind of in the way.” She dropped her gaze to the toes of her slippers as she shuffled them in the dust.

  “I noticed that this evening,” he added. “It should work. They’ll be good for each other.”

  “Oh, yes. How long is it going to take you to get done here?”

  “I can’t say.”

  “I’ll watch for you at Doane’s Crossing. A week—ten days?”

  “I’ll be riding that way as soon as I can.” He smiled at her as she came into his arms.

  “It’ll be hard to wait for you,” she said with her head nestled on his chest.

  “I’ll be coming,” he promised, and kissed the top of her head. Be hard for him to wait too.

  27

  “Get your hands in the air and don’t wiggle a muscle,” Teddy said to the shocked Knotts as they burst into his office and caught the lawman lying on a cot. “By the authority of the great state of Texas, I am arresting you for malfeasance of office and declaring that position open in this county. Furthermore, I am appointing Ray Ellis as the acting sheriff until the officials can duly elect a new sheriff. How many deputies are there?”

  “You can’t—” Knotts started to complain as Ray searched him for weapons. Then, along with McCurdy, who they’d dragged inside with them, Ray and Teddy took the ex-sheriff back to the cells. When both prisoners were locked in, Ray and Teddy came back and the Ranger began to review the roster on the desk.

  Slocum stood back and observed all of it. A man arrived who called himself the county judge, and after some batting of his eyes at the Ranger’s actions, he set out to find the other officials. While the man was gone, Teddy took three badges from deputies who came by to report in. With their boss behind bars, they didn’t waste much time arguing or sticking up for him.

  By mid-morning, a new deputy was sworn in to watch the jail and to assist Ray. The county officials, meanwhile, went off to a saloon to argue about the possible candidates for sheriff. Slocum and Teddy rode north to find Devereau and Slade.

  Past sundown, they found Devereau’s place empty and made themselves at home. Teddy stoked the stove with spit wood, and Slocum made beans and corn bread for their supper.

  “Where are they at?” Teddy asked.

  “I figure across the river in the Indian lands.”

  ‘My badge ain’t no good up there,” Teddy said, putting some more fresh sticks on the fire.

  “I guess we could go up there and flush them out.”

  “You have a notion where they’re at?”

  “For ten bucks I can find out.”

  “That would be cheap enough. How we going to do that?”

  “Go up to Doane’s Store in the morning and bribe a few cowhands.”

  At sunup they rode to Doane’s Store. Slocum had Teddy hide his badge, and they walked in like drovers without a herd.

  “Anyone got any cattle to sell?” Slocum asked, motioning for the barkeep to set up two glasses. It was not the same man as on Slocum’s previous visit.

  “Whiskey, gents?” the barkeep asked with a bottle ready.

  “The better brand,” Slocum said to the man, and looked around the store. The place was empty, but he figured the unemployed cowboys would drift in before long.

  “There’s two fellas got a herd for sale north of here,” the barkeep said, corking the whiskey.

  “They want to sell it?” Slocum said, waving away Teddy’s offer to pay and slapping down four bits for their drinks.

  “Yeah, their buyer didn’t show up and they’re stuck with the cattle.”

  “What’s their names?”

  “Devereau, and I don’t know his partner’s name.”

  “How can we find them?” Slocum looked at the whiskey in his glass as if inspecting it, not wanting to act too anxious.

  “Take this road north to the forks, go left. You should find them up there. They got the cattle on some grass this last rain brought up.”

  “They with the cattle?”

  “Should be.”

  At mid-morning they found the herd. They noticed each cow had a worked-over brand as they rode casually through looking for signs of Devereau and his partner.

  “No wonder they didn’t sell them. These brands ain’t even healed,” Teddy said.

  “Don’t look too quick, but we’ve got company coming,” Slocum said as two riders approached.

  “You buy the cattle. I’ll act like your hand,” Teddy said under his breath.

  “Morning,” said the dark-complected one that Slocum took as Devereau. The hardcase on the bay he figured was Slade.

  “You got business here?” Devereau asked.

  “They told us back at the store that you have some cattle to sell.”

  “We’ve got some.” He exchanged a look with Slade, who pushed in closer.

  “Be kind of hard to sell these,” Slocum said, acting pained. “Them brands will be a month healing. You got any cleaner cattle?”

  “Some. What you paying?”

  “Twenty a head for clean brands.”

  “Twenty!” Devereau shouted in disbelief. “Why, these cattle are worth twice that.”

  “Not with brands that I can’t explain.” Slocum turned in the saddle. “What do you think, Teddy?”

  “I think you two better raise your hands,” the Ranger said.

  “Wh
at?” Slade demanded in disbelief, and went for his gun.

  He should have realized he was drawing against a stacked deck. The Colt belched in Teddy’s hand, and Slade was torn sideways out of the saddle by the blast. His horse bolted out from under him, and he lay on the ground as scarlet blood began to soak through from his left shoulder.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Slocum ordered, and pushed his sorrel in close to disarm Devereau. “We’re going back to Texas.”

  “You can’t arrest us here. This is Indian land,” Devereau complained.

  “We ain’t arresting you here. That’s what we’re going back to Texas for.”

  “What charges?”

  “Murder of Duncan Cottrel.”

  “You can’t prove that.”

  “Oh, yes, we can. We’ve got a deathbed confession of Troy Martin that you killed him and Duncan.”

  “Huh?” Devereau frowned in disbelief. “He never talked.”

  “Oh, yes, he did. It’ll be enough to hang you. Get off and see what you can do for Slade. I’d hate for him to miss the hanging party we’ve got planned for the two of you.”

  It was past midnight when they reached Black City with their prisoners. Ray sent his deputy after the doctor to see what he could do for Slade’s shoulder. The wounded outlaw moaned a lot when they put him in a cell.

  Ray took Slocum aside while Teddy made out his reports on the desk.

  “Two men were in here today,” Ray said, lowering his voice. “Claimed they came from Fort Scott, Kansas, have a murder warrant for you from the sheriff up there.”

  “What did you tell them?” Slocum asked. The Abbott brothers had found him. Damn, there was no safe haven. He’d hoped his trail had been faint enough to give himself more time.

  “I said I had never heard of you, but I think they poked around town. Found out you were working for Sam and then went out to the C T X to ask more questions.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “First, I ain’t honoring no Jayhawker warrant,” Ray said.

  “Good. There’s a change in plans,” Slocum said to Teddy, who looked up from his paperwork. “The two of you can handle Taylor. Sam has the cartridges that someone used on my friend Luther Clayton. I’d bet there’s a match in the ejector marks on either Devereau’s or Taylor’s Winchester. I need to ride.”

  “I’ll check on it close. But where are you going?” Teddy asked in surprise.

  “I’ve got some business elsewhere.”

  “That Kansas warrant business?” the Ranger asked.

  “Yes.”

  “The captain told me all about that.”

  “Good. I’ll be seeing you.”

  Slocum left the jail and cinched up the sorrel; he headed him north under the stars. There was no time for words with Sam, but she’d make it with Ray to help her. He’d slip back into the Indian lands and then work his way toward Dodge and see about that trail-driving job with Giles. He planned to leave a confusing enough trail that the Abbotts would have a hard time figuring it out.

  But what if that pair of bounty hunters gave Sam too much trouble? He turned the sorrel west. With Ray holding down the sheriff’s job and only the ranch hands around, he’d better be certain that she was all right. He short-loped the sorrel through the night.

  He came into the ranch headquarters in the early light. He left the sorrel hitched in a draw and worked his way to the barn. In the first peek of dawn there was no sign of the Abbott brothers. Ferall Abbott rode a big blanket-rump Appaloosa that Slocum would know on sight. There was no sign of any strange horses in the corrals as he skirted them. Had they ridden on?

  He eased himself toward the house and spotted what looked like a body in the wagon. All wrapped in a blanket, it had the unmistakable shape of a corpse.

  “Slocum, that you?” Sam hissed from the doorway. She showed herself on the porch bearing a shotgun.

  “Yes,” he said, looking around to be certain they were alone. “Who’s that?” He indicated the body.

  “Taylor,” she said with a tight set to her mouth.

  “What happened?”

  “I guess he come to finish the war, like you warned me he would.” She set the shotgun down inside the door.

  “What happened?” He frowned at the wagon.

  “When he got off his horse and drew out his Colt on me, Teo shot him. Come in. I’ve got coffee and breakfast started.”

  “That was it?”

  “Oh, Taylor came riding in here ranting and raving like a madman. How I ruined his life for him. He must have been drunk.”

  “Have two men been here looking for me?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Two tough hombres with a pretty sorry poster picture of you. I don’t think it even looked like you. They were here last night and they rode on towards Doane’s Store. I told them last time I saw you that you were headed for Fort Smith.” She dished him out some fried potatoes and eggs on a plate. “Take time to eat. They’ve been gone a long time. How’s Ray doing?”

  “Fine. He’s got a jail full of prisoners. We brought Devereau and Slade back for the murder of your uncle. You and Ray and the hands will need to go up in the Indian lands and get all those cattle of yours back that they took up there.”

  “We’ll do that as soon as he can get out of that lawman’s job. You know a funny thing? Angela left last night right after those bounty men rode out of here. She never said where she was going.”

  “I’ve got a notion,” he said between bites.

  “She thanked me and left.”

  “I owe you for a horse,” he said.

  “Oh, you don’t owe me a thing. How can I repay you?”

  “I’ll need a place to hide out someday. I may drop by.”

  “Anytime you know you’ll be welcome. One more thing. I shot Taylor’s rifle and here’s the casing.” She handed him the brass shell. “And here’s the ones that I found that killed Luther.” She waited for him to examine the ejector marks. “Pretty good match, isn’t it? I guess Luther’s killer is out there in the wagon, isn’t he?”

  Slocum nodded. We got the man, Luther.

  He finished his breakfast, and had to hug her for a long time.

  “Take a fresh horse and for God’s sake be careful,” she said after him. “I won’t ever forget you, big man.”

  “You either, Sam,” he said as Teo met him leading a new horse with his rig on it.

  “Take care of her,” Slocum said to the men, who nodded. Then he rode north.

  At mid-morning, he came off the rise and headed for the river. In shock he reined up the big dun she’d given him. He could see a familiar blanket-rump Appaloosa switching flies in the cedars. Why, damn, he’d ridden right up on top of the Abbott brothers. He started to rein the dun aside. Was he too late? Had he ridden into an ambush? Then Angela came around the horse and waved for him to come on.

  In a second, she ducked out of sight, and returned mounted on a horse and leading the Ap and another big stout horse. There was no mistaking. She had the bounty men’s horses in tow.

  “Where are they?” he asked.

  “Walking, I guess,” she said with a grin. “I figured when they told me they were after you, I better help. So I slipped up and took their horses.”

  “Where did you learn how to steal horses?” he asked as they rode for the river and the vastness of the Indian Nation on the other side.

  “I told you I lived a winter and a summer with the Cheyenne. You don’t forget such things.”

  “Maybe you can teach me how to curtsy for a king too?”

  “Maybe,” she said with a smug wink for him. Then they baled their horses down the bank and struck the lazy current of the Red River on the run. Slocum looked back and silently said good-bye to Texas and the Abbott brothers. He and Angela needed to get away. She screamed at her horse, who was making high jumps when he struck the deeper water, but he soon settled in and swam the short distance to where he could wade again. Satisfied she was all right, Slocum gathere
d the loose horses she had let go of and brought them on with him.

  He glanced over at her as their mounts cat-hopped up the steep dirt bank. On top, he and Angela shared a smile. They could take their time once they got a ways into the Nation. Until they got themselves some new horses, the Abbott brothers wouldn’t be much of a threat.