by Tell Cotten
“You rest easy now,” Yancy said.
“I ain’t going anywhere,” I smiled faintly, and then they left.
So that’s how it was. I got myself all healed up, and three weeks later I was back on my feet and moving around.
I was stiff and sore all over. But my gun hand was fine, and I was anxious to get started.
Chapter seventy-five
We left early one morning. I rode Desperate, and it was a good feeling to be back in the saddle.
I spent a lot of time with Yancy and Cooper during my stay at Midway. Like the Tomlins, they were good, honest folks, and it gave me a good feeling to be around them.
I also met J.T. Tussle.
I told him who I was, and J.T. Tussle fondly remembered my Pa. He said that Pa had been a good man, and he wished that Pa could have worked for him.
Hearing that made me feel good, but it also made me a little sad. It would have been a fine life, working for J.T. Tussle.
I had now been cleared of killing that lawman, and I felt like a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I also didn’t feel like a bad person anymore.
Now, I knew I had still killed some folks. But, all those fellers had been in the wrong, and I had been in the right. And that, at least to me, made a big difference.
We traveled for a week, and that final night we made camp about a half mile from the entrance of Kinrich’s valley.
I had already explained about the back trail, and the plan was for Cooper to watch the back trail while Yancy and I went in the front.
“I’ve got a favor to ask,” I said as we sat around the campfire.
Yancy looked up.
“Oh?” He asked.
“I’d like to go in alone tomorrow,” I announced.
Yancy shook his head.
“No,” he answered firmly. “I’ve got a part in this too. Chino was my friend, remember?”
I nodded.
“I know, but I’d still like to do this alone. You see, a long time ago I made myself a promise, and I figure this is my one chance to square things.”
“I made myself a promise a long time ago too,” Yancy said. “I aim to get the man that killed Chino.”
I frowned thoughtfully.
“What are you after; revenge, or justice?” I asked.
Yancy scowled.
“What does it matter?”
“I’m after redemption,” I said.
“You’ve already done your part,” Yancy said. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have never found Kinrich’s valley. I reckon you’ve redeemed yourself.”
I could tell that Yancy wasn’t going to change his mind, so I gave up. Soon afterwards we turned in, and daylight found us saddled and ready to ride.
Before we left, I rummaged through my saddlebags and pulled out my ivory handled Colt. I handled it some, and then I slid it in my holster.
Yancy was watching me.
“You ready?” He asked.
I nodded as I stepped up onto Desperate.
“I am now,” I said.
We made a big circle, and I showed Cooper where the back trail was. He found a good hiding spot where he could keep watch, and then Yancy and I rode back around to the front of the valley.
We pulled up in front of the entrance.
Like I always did, I checked my ivory handled six-shooter and made sure it was loaded and ready.
Yancy did the same, and then he rode forward and examined the entrance of the rock passage while I stayed back.
“You were right, Rondo,” Yancy said. “It is well hidden and hard to find.”
Yancy turned in the saddle and looked back at me, and his eyes widened in surprise.
“What are you doing!” He exclaimed.
I had drawn my six-shooter, and it was pointed straight at Yancy.
“I’m going in alone,” I declared.
Yancy narrowed his eyes, but I didn’t waver.
It was silent as Yancy eyed me, and then he sighed. He laid his reins across his horse’s neck, stuck his hands deep inside his vest’s pockets, hunched his shoulders, and looked sourly at me.
“There’s two ways we can do this,” I said. “The choice is yours.”
Yancy frowned.
“You’re dead set on doing this alone?” He asked.
“I am.”
Yancy’s frown deepened.
“I know you’re bluffing,” he said. “One; you wouldn’t shoot me. And two; Kinrich would hear the shot.”
I didn’t reply.
Yancy scowled, and then he reluctantly agreed.
“All right, I’ll let you go on in. But I’m only giving you five minutes. After that I’m coming in after you.”
I nodded, relieved.
“I figure that’s all the time I’ll need,” I said, and then I holstered my pistol.
“Think you’re good enough?” Yancy asked.
“Don’t know,” I replied.
Yancy nodded, and then he studied me.
“You starting to feel it?”
“The feeling?” I asked.
Yancy nodded, and I nodded back.
“You can’t swallow, you can’t breathe, and your heart’s pounding. You’re sweaty, cold and hot at the same time,” I said.
“Yep, that’s it,” Yancy agreed, and then he smiled. “Reckon you’ll be all right then.”
I nodded.
“One other thing,” Yancy said, and his voice was grave. “Don’t you ever pull a gun on me again.”
Yancy and I looked at each other, and I answered softly, “Sure, Yancy.”
After that I kicked up Desperate and rode through the rock passage. I came out on the other side, and then I studied the valley carefully, just like Glen Harris had done.
The valley hadn’t changed much. It was still green and majestic, and Kinrich’s shack and pole corrals were still standing in the back.
I glanced at the shack, and that’s when I spotted Kinrich.
I got an eerie feeling, because he was sitting in the same spot that he had been sitting at when Harris had ridden in.
But this time, I could tell that he wasn’t cleaning his guns.
Chapter seventy-six
Kinrich spotted me, but he did nothing as I rode down into the valley.
I pulled up Desperate when I was about halfway to the cabin. I dismounted and walked towards Kinrich.
I stopped when I was about thirty feet away, and it was almost the exact spot where Harris had been. My eyes shot over to the pole corals, but I didn’t see anybody.
Kinrich had a wild, insane look on his face, and I knew that the man before me was nothing more than a coiled rattlesnake, ready to strike at any moment.
Kinrich stood, and his hand hovered over his gun, as did mine.
“I knew you were going to come,” Kinrich said.
“That’s right, Kinrich,” I said. “I’ve come for you. Now drop your gun and come along real quiet like.”
Kinrich chuckled a low, mean laugh.
“You trying to bluff me, Button?”
I shook my head.
“No, Kinrich. I’m here to take you in, one way or the other.”
“Well I ain’t dropping my gun, so that means it’ll have to be the other way,” Kinrich said, and his voice had a hint of sarcasm to it.
“I know,” I replied.
“First day I ever laid eyes on you, I knew it was going to come to this one day,” Kinrich said.
I didn’t reply. Instead, I waited on him to make the first move.
Suddenly, something flickered in Kinrich’s eyes, and we both grabbed for our guns.
I made the quickest and smoothest draw that I had ever made. My ivory handled six-shooter was out and firing, but so was Kinrich’s.
Our guns fired simultaneously, and together they made one thundering boom.
I felt a wicked blow hit me somewhere down below, but I also saw Kinrich’s body jerk as he took lead.
The impact knocked me backwards, but I mana
ged to stay on my feet. I braced myself and fired two more shots. My aim was true, and Kinrich’s body jolted under the impact.
Kinrich was firing back, but his bullets went harmlessly into the ground.
Kinrich was still on his feet. However, he started staggering as he tried to bring his six-shooter up again for another shot.
I held my fire as I just stood there and watched him.
I heard a distant shout from behind me, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off Kinrich.
Kinrich was grinning wildly at me. Blood foamed out his lips and ran down his face. He tried to say something, but the blood was choking him up on the inside.
Suddenly, Kinrich’s knees buckled, and he fell face down into the dust. I watched him warily, but he didn’t move anymore.
Satisfied, I slowly holstered my six-shooter. Kinrich was dead, and it was all over with now.
I tried to move, but strangely I couldn’t. I looked down and saw blood running down my side.
Suddenly, I felt weak. I felt myself falling, and before I could regain my balance I hit the ground hard. Everything started spinning out of control, and all I could do was just lie there.
Before I knew it, Yancy was there. He looked me over, and then he held me up.
“It’s all right, Rondo,” he said. “It doesn’t look like the bullet hit any of your main vitals. I think after we dig that slug out you’re going to be just fine.”
I tried to reply, but couldn’t. So I nodded, and then I passed out.
***
When I woke up it was nighttime, and I was wrapped in some blankets. I looked around and spotted Yancy and Cooper sitting beside a campfire, drinking coffee.
Cooper spotted me and grinned.
“Well! It looks like you’re going to pull out of it!” He said.
I could only think of one thing.
“I’ve gotta get going,” I managed to say.
“Is that so?” Yancy smiled. “Where do you have to go?”
“Home,” I replied.
“Oh? And what do you plan on doing when you get there?” Yancy wanted to know.
Suddenly, I smiled.
“Well, I reckon I’ll be going to church a lot.”
Chapter seventy-seven
Because I was wounded we had to ride slow, and it took us two weeks to get back to Midway.
I was bedridden for a week, but after that I was able to move around some. I was still real sore and stiff, but I discovered that the more I moved the more limber I got.
I stayed with Yancy and Cooper.
They had a small house on the edge of town, and my daily routine was to sit out on the front porch and drink coffee while I watched the activity on the street. It quickly became boring, but there was just nothing else to do.
However, I was healing fast, and soon I would be able to head home.
I was rocking in a rocking chair on the porch one day while drinking coffee and watching things as usual. There was a cool breeze, so I covered my legs with a blanket.
It was midafternoon, and Yancy and Cooper were off tending to their business.
I watched a freight wagon roll by, and then I noticed a rider that was coming into town.
There was something familiar about the rider, and I squinted as I looked at him.
I suddenly recognized him. It was Lee Mattingly!
Lee was walking his horse down the street, and when he spotted me he smiled and rode over. He pulled up his horse in front of the porch.
It was silent as Lee looked me over.
“Rondo,” he finally said.
“Lee,” I replied with a curt nod.
Lee chuckled.
“You, uh, look comfortable,” he said.
“I am,” I replied, and asked, “What are you doing here?”
“We got the herd to Abilene, so I thought I’d ride over and see if you got hung or not,” Lee explained.
“That was thoughtful,” I said. “Where’s Ross?”
“He’s probably back at the Tomlins by now. He seemed to be in a real big hurry to get back down there,” Lee replied.
I couldn’t hide the worried look on my face, and Lee chuckled.
I frowned, but didn’t say anything.
“Coffee looks good,” Lee hinted.
“Climb on down and help yourself,” I offered.
“Thanks,” Lee replied.
He dismounted, tied his horse to the hitching rail, and walked up and sat beside me. I had an extra cup, so he poured himself some coffee.
“Here, pour some of this in it,” I handed him a cup with some sugar in it. “Yancy says it’s the new way to drink coffee these days. Makes it taste sweet.”
“Oh?” Lee said, and he poured some in.
He stirred it with his finger and tasted it.
“Not bad,” he commented.
After that we just sat there without talking, but there was nothing uncomfortable in the silence.
That’s just the way it was with Lee and me now. We both had things to say, but we were in no hurry to say them.
We both drank two cups of coffee, and then Lee glanced sideways at me.
“I see you got shot again,” he nodded at my side.
“I did,” I confirmed.
“Dangerous habit,” Lee said, and asked, “Who shot you this time?”
“Kinrich,” I replied.
“Kinrich!” Lee said, surprised. “Again?”
I nodded, and then I told Lee all that had happened. I also told him about the pardon.
Lee was impressed.
“So you killed Ben Kinrich,” he drawled.
“I did,” I admitted.
“Wish I could have seen that,” Lee said, almost wistfully.
It was silent, and then Lee smiled.
“So, this means you ain’t the most wanted feller in Texas anymore.”
“That’s right,” I agreed.
Lee’s smile widened.
“And that means you can go back to Empty-lake.”
“If I want to,” I nodded.
“What do you mean; ‘if I want to’?” Lee asked. “Don’t you want to go back?”
I didn’t want to look too eager, so I just shrugged.
“I’ve been thinking on it,” I replied. “I ain’t made up my mind just yet.”
Lee smiled and shook his head.
“You ain’t fooling me none,” he said. “I know what you’re going to do.”
“You do?” I asked innocently.
“Yep,” Lee nodded. “You’re going to go back to the Tomlins and wait for Palmer. He said he’d be coming for you, remember?”
“I remember,” I replied wryly.
“Well then, that’s what you’re going to do,” Lee declared.
“How did you figure that?” I smiled.
“’Cause that’s the way me and you are,” Lee replied. “You might have all of these silly rules that you go by now, but I know you won’t run from a fight. You know it, and I know it.”
“Mebbe I’m going back for other reasons,” I said.
“You are. You’re going back for two reasons,” Lee said matter-of-factly. “Palmer’s one reason, and the other’s Rachel.”
I couldn’t argue with that. So instead, I just smiled.
“Mebbe you’re right,” I said.
It fell silent again, and then I looked over at Lee.
“So, now that the cattle drive is over, what are you going to do now?” I asked.
“Reckon I’ll just go with you,” Lee replied. “Keep you company.”
“You just want to see what happens with Palmer,” I retorted.
Lee grinned.
“Well, it could turn out to be interesting,” he said.
“You think everything I do is interesting,” I frowned.
Lee chuckled.
“Well, you are a mighty interesting feller,” he agreed.
Chapter seventy-eight
It worried me to think that Ross was back at Empty-lake with Rachel. So, tw
o days later Lee and I decided to leave.
Yancy, however, thought that I should stay a while longer.
“You ain’t healed up yet,” he insisted.
“I’ll be fine,” I replied, and added, “I’m not bleeding anymore.”
Yancy knew there was no use trying to talk me out of it, so he didn’t say anything else.
We saddled up as Yancy and Cooper stood by.
“Well, so long,” I said as I shook their hands.
“So long,” Yancy said. “Come see us sometime.”
“I’ll do that,” I replied.
“Is that invite for me too?” Lee smiled.
Yancy turned and studied Lee with a stern look.
“One of these days you’re going to rob the wrong feller in the wrong place,” Yancy finally said. “When that happens, I’m going to have to kill you, Lee, unless you change your ways.”
Lee laughed as we climbed into the saddle.
“I reckon we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?” Lee said.
“You’re either on one side or the other, Lee,” Yancy said. “Can’t be on both sides of the river at once.”
“Yeah, but it’s real easy to cross back and forth,” Lee replied.
Yancy smiled faintly and shook his head.
“Mebbe so, but don’t be crossing any rivers around here.”
“Don’t plan to,” Lee said.
“Good,” Yancy said.
Lee nodded, and then we said goodbye and rode out.
***
We had to ride slow, and it took us almost three weeks to get back to Empty-lake. We circled town and headed south towards headquarters.
We pulled up when we topped out on the hill that overlooked headquarters. Things looked to be normal, and I was glad.
Lee looked at me curiously.
“Thought about what you’re going to say to Rachel?” He asked.
“No,” I replied.
Lee frowned.
“Well, you’d better think of something, don’t you think?”
“You just leave Rachel to me,” I replied.
“Sure,” Lee chuckled.
We kicked up our horses and rode on down the hill.
I spotted Mr. Tomlin, Ross, and Buster down at the barn, so we rode over there.
