Carmelita came out from the kitchen, looked around at the visitors, and seemed surprised to see Gray Hawk. But she just nodded, said, “Sí, señor,” and left the room.
Starbird lowered himself into his wheelchair. “Please, Miss Kincaid, Mr. Parnell, sit down. You were about to tell me what you learned in town when my niece and her friends came up.”
Sophia and Parnell took seats on one of the leather-covered divans. Diana sat in a chair as far away from Sophia as she could get. Sam settled comfortably across from her. Gray Hawk crossed his arms and stood stolidly near the fireplace. His stance bore a certain resemblance to a cigar-store Indian, The Kid thought.
As for The Kid, he took his hat off and put it on his knee as he sat down in a leather armchair where he could see both Diana and Sophia. If the two of them started a brawl, he didn’t want to get in the middle of it, he told himself.
Sophia said, “You tell the story, Jefferson. You were the one who heard those men talking.”
“All right,” Parnell said with a nod. “I overheard two of Malone’s men talking. I don’t know their names, but I recognized them. They were discussing the fact that Malone had called all of his men back to his ranch. They’re not blocking the trails out here to Diamondback anymore.”
The Kid nodded. He had wondered how Parnell and Sophia had made it through the cordon around the ranch. The conversation Parnell had overheard explained that.
“These two men were just getting a last drink before heading out to Trident,” Parnell went on. “They discussed the reason Malone is gathering his forces. He plans to launch an all-out attack on Diamondback at dawn tomorrow morning.”
Owen Starbird sat up straighter in his chair. “Intends to take us by surprise, does he?”
“Yes, sir. He has close to fifty men, from what I heard. All of them hired killers, more than likely.”
“More than likely,” The Kid agreed. “Why are you warning us about this, Parnell?”
The newspaperman pushed his spectacles up on his nose. “Because I don’t want Malone taking over the valley any more than you do. He already has everybody in town so scared they won’t cross him. If he takes over Diamondback, he’ll run everything in the valley, including my newspaper.” Parnell shook his head. “I don’t want him telling me what I can and can’t print. There’s still such a thing as freedom of the press, you know.”
Diana said, “This is insane. Malone can’t really believe that he can get away with taking over the valley and running it like some sort of feudal kingdom.”
“Maybe that’s not what he’s really after,” The Kid said. “It’s not far to the border. Maybe he plans to take over just long enough to loot the whole valley and then head for Mexico before the sheriff or the Rangers can stop him. A big cleanup that’ll net him a large enough fortune he can live like a king for the rest of his life.”
Owen Starbird nodded and said, “Perhaps you’re right, Morgan. Malone could do that and still have his revenge on me at the same time.”
“He’s probably planning on taking Diana with him,” The Kid added.
“Well, he’s going to be damn disappointed,” she said sharply. “I wouldn’t go to Mexico, or anywhere else, with him to save my own life.”
“What about the lives of your uncle, or Gray Hawk?” The Kid suggested. “Or both of them?”
He could tell from the look in Diana’s eyes that his questions had found their target. She didn’t answer, but she didn’t need to. The Kid knew she would sacrifice herself to save the people she cared about.
“What’re we gonna do?” Rocklin asked. “Now that we know Malone’s gonna try to wipe us out in the mornin’, we can’t just sit around and wait for him to attack, can we?”
Parnell leaned forward in his chair. “If all of his men are gathered at Trident, it seems to me that it might be wise to strike at them first.”
Starbird clenched a fist and nodded emphatically as he said, “I was just thinking the same thing, Mr. Parnell. In the Royal Navy, we didn’t wait for the pirates to come to us. We hunted them down and destroyed them!”
“Then that’s what we ought to do,” Rocklin said. “Malone won’t be expectin’ us to hit him. As far as he knows, we still figure he’s got us cut off from town.”
Starbird was caught up in the excitement of strategizing. He had lost his annoying air of self-pity buoyed by the imminent prospect of action. That mood might return when he realized that he wouldn’t be able to take part in the raid on Trident, but he continued to plan with Rocklin.
The Kid remained silent for the most part. Diana, Gray Hawk, Sophia, and Parnell were quiet as well. Of course, Sophia and Parnell didn’t have any real part to play. They would climb into the buggy and return to Bristol after lunch. As long as Malone didn’t find out that they had tried to help his enemies, they would be all right.
Starbird and Rocklin decided to hit Trident at midnight, when most of the men at the ranch would be asleep. Malone would probably have guards posted, but if they considered themselves safe they might not be too alert. Those from Diamondback had taken a strictly defensive stance, and Malone and his men had no reason to think that was going to change.
Carmelita announced that dinner was served, and once again, Diana and Sophia sat as far from each other at the dining table as they could. The Kid noticed that Parnell frowned a little at Gray Hawk, as if the idea of sitting down to eat with an Indian bothered him, but the newspaperman didn’t say anything.
When the meal was over, Sophia said, “We should be getting back to town now.”
“Thank you for coming out here with Mr. Parnell to warn us, Miss Kincaid,” Starbird said. “You might be in danger if Malone finds out you were trying to help us.”
“I stand to lose a lot more if he takes over the entire valley,” she said. “Good luck to you, Captain Starbird.”
She held out a gloved hand and shook with him. That put a smile on Starbird’s face…and a frown on Diana’s, The Kid noted. He drew her aside and said quietly, “You don’t seem too happy about Miss Kincaid being here.”
“Did you see the way she was flirting with my uncle?” Diana whispered angrily. “My God, he’s three times her age!”
“I don’t think he’s quite that old. Twice her age, maybe. And I don’t know that she was flirting. I think she was just trying to be polite.”
“Maybe so, but I doubt it. And it didn’t look like Uncle Owen took it that way, that’s for sure.”
That explained a little about Diana’s attitude toward Sophia, The Kid supposed. She was afraid that Sophia might take over her place in the household. Considering the things Sophia had told him in town, The Kid was pretty sure that would never happen. Sophia seemed content where she was. But Diana might worry about that possibility anyway. When Sophia and Parnell climbed into the buggy and drove away, Diana muttered, “Good riddance.”
“They came out here to help you, you know,” The Kid pointed out.
“And to serve their own ends,” she shot back at him.
He couldn’t be sure she was wrong about that, but he had other things on his mind. The thing that had been nagging at his brain for a couple of days was becoming clearer. He just hadn’t figured all of it out yet. He needed more information, but unfortunately, there was no way for him to get it short of riding to the nearest telegraph office and sending off some wires to his lawyers in San Francisco. He was sure they could burn up the telegraph wires and find out what he wanted to know, but there was no time. The attack on Malone’s ranch was that night.
And The Kid had plenty to do to get ready.
Chapter 23
Excitement and anticipation gripped the ranch that afternoon and evening, as the men prepared for the raid on Malone’s ranch. Rocklin stood near the corral with The Kid and said, “There are twenty-eight men in the crew. If you and the Injun come along, that’ll give us thirty. Malone’s bunch will still outnumber us, but we’ll have the advantage of surprise on our side.”
T
he Kid shook his head. “Gray Hawk isn’t coming with us, Sam.”
Rocklin stared at him in surprise for a moment before saying, “Not comin’ with us? What the hell, Kid? From ever’thing I’ve seen and heard of that old Yaqui, I had him figured for a plumb fightin’ fool.”
“I suspect that’s exactly what he is, but somebody has to stay here to keep an eye on Diana and her uncle. I asked Gray Hawk to do that.”
Rocklin’s frown deepened. “You reckon this is a trick of some sort?”
“I don’t know, but we have to be aware that it might be.”
The foreman nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess you could be right. We don’t want to leave the cap’n and Miss Diana here without anybody to watch out for ’em.”
It would take about an hour to ride from Diamondback to Trident. Rocklin knew the way and would lead the attack. The Starbird ranch hands gathered at the corral at ten o’clock to saddle their horses. That would give them enough time to reach their destination, make any plans that needed to be made once they had scouted out the situation, and get into position for the raid.
The Kid was in the living room of the ranch house, about to leave the house to join Rocklin and the others, when Owen Starbird appeared, being pushed in his wheelchair by Diana. Carmelita trailed behind them, carrying Starbird’s crutches.
“Captain,” The Kid said, nodding to the older man. “Come to wish us luck?”
“Help me outside, Morgan,” Starbird said as he put his hands on the arms of the chair to push himself to his feet. “I want to talk to the men before they leave.”
The Kid stepped forward to steady Starbird while Diana moved up on his other side to lend a hand. Carmelita took the crutches to him. Starbird tucked them under his arms and gripped the handles tightly.
Even with The Kid and Diana to help him, the muscles in Starbird’s neck stood out like cords as he struggled against the drag of his useless legs. He clumped over to the door. Carmelita held it open for him. The struggle continued across the porch and down the steps to the ground.
Rocklin saw them coming. “Quiet down, you varmints,” he snapped at the crew, who were talking and laughing among themselves, excited over the prospect of taking the fight to the men who’d been tormenting them for weeks.
There was an undercurrent of nervousness in their voices, too, The Kid thought. They all knew that they were going to face danger. A lot of bullets would fly, and it was highly likely that not everyone who rode away from the ranch would come back alive.
Starbird made his slow, torturous way toward the corral as silence fell. The light from a three-quarter moon washed over the faces of the punchers as they turned toward him. Starbird finally came to a stop in front of them, his chest rising and falling heavily as he breathed hard from his exertions. He had to wait a moment to recover a little before he could speak.
“Men, I want you to know how very proud I am of each and every one of you. You’ve been faithful lads despite the odds against you. You’ve risked your lives, and others have…have given their lives. Some have suffered injuries protecting this ranch. I appreciate your loyalty and your gallantry more than I can possibly say.”
“Shoot, boss, we know that,” Rocklin said. “We’re just doin’ our jobs. We ride for the brand.”
“Darn right,” one of the men added. “Like Sam says, we ride for the brand.”
The others joined in a chorus of agreement.
“Be that as it may,” Starbird said when things had quieted down again, “what I am going to ask of you now goes above and beyond the call of duty.”
Rocklin shook his head. “Not hardly. We’re lookin’ forward to fightin’ that blasted Malone and his bunch o’ pirates and gun-wolves, ain’t we, fellas?”
That question brought a lusty cheer from the assembled punchers.
“No, no,” Starbird said stubbornly. “It’s more than that. I’ve been thinking a great deal about how you need to proceed tonight.”
The Kid looked behind Starbird’s back at Diana and frowned quizzically. She gave a tiny shake of her head to indicate that she didn’t know what her uncle was talking about, either.
Rocklin frowned, too. He said, “Maybe you best explain what you’re gettin’ at, Cap’n. We’re still gonna ride over to Trident and give Malone hell and hot lead, ain’t we?”
“Indeed you are,” Starbird said, “but only if he refuses to surrender.”
Everyone was silent for a couple of seconds, as if they couldn’t believe what they had just heard. Then Rocklin burst out, “Surrender! I thought we were gonna just fill the sons o’—I mean, the polecats—full of holes!”
“Although this isn’t England, this is still a civilized country, a land of law and order,” Starbird insisted. “We have no official standing beyond that of citizens, but we are acting in the right by opposing Malone, and therefore are justified in taking whatever measures are necessary to stop him from threatening the peace and security of everyone in the valley. But in order for our actions to have any legitimacy, we must proceed in a proper manner. We must call on Malone to surrender, for him and his men to put down their arms and submit themselves to the proper authority. I’m sure the Rangers will arrive sooner or later, and they can see to it that Malone and his men are tried in a court of law.”
The Kid was surprised to hear Starbird talking like that. He had thought the man understood how things were done out here. He thought that Diamondback had been attacked enough to make Starbird realize they had to fight back. Starbird could talk about law and order all he wanted to, but there came a time when the only law that counted came in calibers.
At the same time, the change of heart on Starbird’s part wasn’t totally unexpected. After all, Starbird had been an officer in the Royal Navy and had captained his own ship. There were certain ways of doing things, and those methods were drummed into him. They were part of him. He couldn’t ignore them. When he had finally captured Black Terence Malone, Starbird hadn’t killed the dreaded pirate or his crew, The Kid reminded himself. He had taken them back to England so that they could be put on trial and thrown into prison where they belonged.
The Kid knew in every fiber of his being that Malone wouldn’t surrender. But in calling on him to do so, as Starbird wanted, the men from Diamondback would be giving up the advantage of surprise.
Sam Rocklin knew it, too. “That ain’t a smart thing to do, boss,” he argued. “If we let Malone know we’re there, he and his men will have a chance to fort up. We got to get right among ’em and hit ’em fast and hard, so we can whittle down the odds before they know what’s goin’ on. Otherwise…”
Rocklin didn’t finish the sentence, but The Kid knew what he meant. Without the element of surprise on their side, Malone and his men might be able to wipe them out. Malone would suffer some casualties, too, no doubt about that, but in the end he would win.
“I’m sorry, Sam,” Starbird said. “You’re a good man and true, and I know that I’m asking a great deal of you and the lads. But if our victory is to mean anything, if we’re to emerge from this with our honor intact, you simply must do as I wish.”
Rocklin looked at his employer for a long moment. The silence stretched out. Then, abruptly, Rocklin jerked his head in a nod.
“If that’s the way you want it, boss,” he said, “that’s the way it’ll be.”
Some of the punchers started to protest. Rocklin’s head jerked around toward them and he silenced them with a cold stare.
“Thank you, Sam,” Starbird said. “Are you ready to depart?”
“Yes, sir, we sure are. I don’t know when we’ll be back. We may have to lay siege to the place to smoke out all them rats.”
“Do whatever you need to.” Starbird held out his hand. “And good luck to you. Each and every man jack of you.” The two of them shook hands.
Starbird turned and held out his hand to The Kid as well. “This still isn’t your fight, Morgan, unless you choose for it to be,” he said.
The Kid
gripped the older man’s strong hand. “It was my fight the minute I first laid eyes on Malone and his lowdown bunch,” he said.
“Very well. Thank you, my young friend.”
“I’ll help you back to the house, and then I can join Sam and the others—”
“Carmelita and Diana can help me,” Starbird said.
“You’re sure?”
“Quite.”
The Kid nodded. “All right.” He had already saddled the buckskin and put the horse with the others. The Winchester and the Sharps rode snug in their sheaths. The Kid moved over and took the reins from the cowboy who’d been holding them.
“Mount up!” Rocklin called.
The Kid swung up into the saddle and the others did likewise. Rocklin touched the brim of his hat in a sort of salute as he led the group past Starbird, Diana, and Carmelita. They kept the horses at a slow walk so as not to kick up a bunch of dust.
The Kid nodded to Diana as he rode past her. He saw the fear on her face and knew that some of it was for him, although he was sure she was worried about all the Diamondback hands. She was fiery and impulsive at times, but he had grown fond of her in the few days he had known her. It seemed that she felt the same way about him.
Someday, if he ever found himself in a similar situation, he might be able to entertain thoughts about settling down again.
But that day hadn’t arrived yet. Not by a long shot. He was willing to risk his life for Diana and her uncle and their ranch, but when it was all over, if he was still alive he would ride away without looking back. He knew that.
And judging by the bittersweet smile on Diana’s face, so did she.
They left the ranch headquarters behind, riding off into the night toward the river and the Trident ranch beyond it. The Kid brought the buckskin up alongside Rocklin’s mount.
“Are you really going to do what Captain Starbird asked you to do?”
Rocklin grunted. “It pains the hell outta me to say it, Kid, but…hell, no. Might as well put our guns to our heads and blow our own brains out as to give Malone a chance, the way he outnumbers us. He’ll be on his own stompin’ grounds, too. Onliest chance we got is to take them bastards by surprise.”
The Loner: Rattlesnake Valley Page 15
