Novel 1968 - Brionne (v5.0)

by Louis L'Amour

  Mowry gave him a wry glance. “You don’t look like no tenderfoot,” he said, “but that there’s a country to ride careful in.”

  They walked back to the train and slowly climbed aboard. The sudden emergency had changed the men from a trainload of strangers to a group of men who had joined hands in a common cause. Brionne glanced around at them, at their blackened, sweat-streaked faces. “It looks as if we should have saved some of that water for ourselves,” he said, and a big Swede farmer grinned at him. The train started to move.

  There was something about such emergencies that lasted, Brionne thought. No matter what happened to them afterwards, the men on this train would never be strangers to each other again. They had something in common and there was now a warmth between them, a knowledge of readiness to rise to an emergency, and each one of them felt better within himself for this victory they had won together.

  Mat looked up at his father; his eyes were big. “I wanted to help,” he said. “Miranda wouldn’t let me.”

  “Thank you,” Brionne said simply to the young woman. “I am James Brionne.”

  “I am Miranda Loften. You have a fine son, Mr. Brionne. I am afraid he comforted me more than I did him.”

  “You are going far?”

  Her eyes became cool. “Not far, Mr. Brionne. Not far at all.” Turning, she walked back to her seat.

  “She’s nice,” Mat commented.

  Brionne glanced out of the window. It was growing light. The last flecks of fire had died out, and now it was daylight.

  The sun went behind heavy clouds, and there was a spattering of rain on the windows. The train’s speed had slowed, for they were climbing a long grade. Brionne, suddenly restless, got up and strolled down the aisle, leaving Mat to watch the rain.

  The big Swede grinned at him and two others spoke to him, commenting on the fire or on the weather. One man, a short, stocky man with a broad red face, looked up as he approached. “Heard you are getting off at Promontory. I keep a store there. If there’s anything I can help you with, you just drop around.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Fellow back east was asking me about that golden spike they drove there at Promontory. Wanted to know if it was still there. I told him it would have been stolen long ago if they’d left it there. Why, there’s men out there would steal the fillings out of your teeth if you left them around. And there’s some would shoot you to get at them,” he added.

  Now the train slowed still more. Bending over, Brionne peered out of the rain-streaked windows. The train was surrounded by a black sea of bobbing woolly black shapes.

  “Buffalo!” he exclaimed.

  The train stopped. The storekeeper leaned over to look out. “Hope it isn’t like last time. We waited most a whole day while the buffalo passed…millions, it seemed like.”

  Suddenly Brionne turned around. Two men stood at the end of the car, looking at him. One of them was a tall, round-shouldered man with wide hips made wider by the two guns he wore. His hat was battered, his shirt collar greasy with dirt, his drooping mustache tobacco-stained.

  But it was the man beside him who drew Brionne’s eyes, for he had a memory for faces. It was the man he had seen in the Southern Hotel in St. Louis.

  Even as Brionne’s eyes met theirs, the men turned and went through the door behind them.

  The storekeeper followed his eyes. “They’ve got some horses back there…ridin’ in the baggage car. I don’t know what else.”

  “I wonder where they were during the fire,” Brionne commented. “I didn’t see them.”

  “Come to think of it, neither did I.”

  The conductor paused beside them. “We’ll be in Cheyenne tonight,” he said. “There’s a live town for you.”

  “I hear there’s some horses in the baggage car,” Brionne said.

  The conductor nodded. “Four men got on last night,” he said. “They bought out the whole car. They’ve got six horses and a lot of gear. Wild horse hunters, they say.”

  Four men…

  Brionne went back to his seat. Mat had fallen asleep, and no one else was near. Opening his carpetbag, he took out his gunbelt and gun. He checked the load, and belted it on.

  Then he sat back in the seat, facing toward the front of the train, and leaned back for a rest. He could watch the front of the train from where he sat.

  Now the train had begun to move a little faster, for the buffalo were thinning out. Several times the whistle sounded, and each time the buffalo would trot a few steps, then subside to walking.

  Mowry paused in the aisle. If he noted the addition of the gunbelt he offered no comment.

  “Not many pilgrims aboard,” he said. “If there was, they’d be shootin’ the buffalo. I’ve seen twenty-five, maybe thirty men, shootin’ all at once. Just killin’—not even able to get the tongues or liver. I never seen the like.”

  “They can run when they want to,” Brionne said. “I’ve seen Indians hunt them on the run.”

  “Buckshot,” Mowry said. “I favor buckshot. You can pick up a good shotgun…a Wells-Fargo type express gun in Promontory. There’s something mighty impressive about a shotgun.”

  Mowry drifted away, and Brionne sat back in his seat, the brim of his hat low over his eyes.…Now what was that all about? Had they simply been talking about buffalo? Or was there something more?

  Chapter 4

  *

  AS THE TRAIN rumbled into the yards at Cheyenne, the conductor stopped by Brionne again. “We’ll be in town an hour and a half,” he said. “You and the boy best catch yourselves a bite. You’ll find nothing else along the line that’s worth the stoppin’. Not for a gent like you.

  “The Cheyenne House ain’t much,” he went on. “Canvas partitions, and they sleep two in a bed. The food’s worse than you’d expect. Hook’s Pilgrim House is the best place to stay, but for grub the place to go is Kate Connor’s. She’s got an eating place close to the tracks, and you’ll get the best. She cottons to youngsters.”

  The food at Kate Connor’s was good, and the bustling, motherly Irish woman took Mat in hand as if she’d raised him from a baby. From time to time she studied Brionne. Finally, standing by the table, hands on her hips, she said, “Most folks I can spot right off, but you don’t fit, mister. You don’t look to be runnin’ from nothing. You could be a gambler, but that ain’t likely or you’d be stoppin’ at one of the places down the street.”

  Brionne glanced at his watch. They had eaten well, and now it was nearing train time. He pushed back his chair and got up, and at that moment a bullet spattered glass and rang a deep gong from a Dutch oven hung on the wall near the door to the kitchen.

  One quick hand pushed Mat to the floor, the other held a gun. Brionne, well inside the room, was crouching to look over the edge of a table and out of the window. He could see nothing in the darkness, but he waited for the flash of a gun…it did not come.

  Kate stared hard at him. “That was no drunken puncher, mister. That man figured on makin’ you dead.”

  Brionne holstered his gun and stood up slowly. He smiled at her. “I don’t believe so, Mrs. Connor. It was just a wild shot.”

  “You think what you like,” she retorted, “but if I was in your boots I’d leave by the back door.”

  “Thanks,” he said; “I believe we will.”

  Holding Mat’s hand in his own left, Brionne eased out the back door and stood for a moment absolutely still, listening to the sounds of the Cheyenne night.

  At least two music boxes were offering their jangling tunes to the night. Somewhere a door slammed and a squeaky pump started. A loud voice, with only the shadow of a tune, was singing a drunken song. Spurs jingled along the boardwalk in front of the restaurant.

  Brionne squatted on his heels. “Mat, I don’t believe that bullet was intended for us, but there are some rough men in this town. We will have to be very quiet…like playing Indian. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” the boy whispered.

  “All r
ight then. We are going down this alley and we are going to get back to the station and on the train. If they are wanting to shoot us, they will try to do it here, where nobody will be able to guess who did it. So we’ll be very careful.”

  It would not be so bad, he reflected, if it were not for the boy. With no one to worry about but himself, he might have stalked whoever it was who had shot at him, and discovered what lay behind it. As it was, the sooner he got back to the comparative safety of the train, the better.

  Skirting some barrels filled with garbage, Brionne found his way into the alley. There he hesitated, waiting to study the shadows. After a moment he started along, keeping to the deepest shadows, listening for the slightest sound. They made it to the back street.

  Light from several open doors made rectangles in the darkness. His eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, and he studied the shadows. Crouching beside Mat, he whispered, “It’s the doorways and the shadows we have to watch, Mat. Keep a lookout for movement. Many a time you will see nothing until something moves.”

  Diagonally across the street was another alley that led toward the tracks. From where he crouched Brionne could hear the heavy panting of the engine, and the occasional calls of the men working along the platform. It must be almost train time.

  By now they knew he had left the restaurant by the rear door. If they were hunting him, they would be checking every route back to the station, and they were few. So far he had moved by the most direct way, and from this spot the most direct route was across the street into that alley…so they would not take it.

  Quietly, his lips close to Mat’s ear, he explained his reasoning. The boy was young, but the world does not always wait for the young to learn, and to Brionne’s way of thinking no time was too soon.

  Deliberately, he turned away from the street and worked his way with infinite care through the debris scattered back of the buildings. There were cans, bottles, old lumber, with here and there a fence to be crossed.

  They came suddenly to the back door of a honky-tonk, and Brionne stepped up and opened the door. For an instant he stood there, studying the room.

  Several card tables were busy, and there were half a dozen bartenders, although the evening was young. A red-skirted dance-hall girl with tawdry frills stood with her back to them.

  And by the front window, with his back to them, was the man from the Southern Hotel. He was watching the street intently.

  Brionne walked through the crowded room, still holding Mat by the hand. Just as he came up behind the man at the window, the latter started to turn. Brionne’s gun slid into his hand and the muzzle nudged the man in the back. The fellow looked around, his face sick with surprise when he saw who was behind him.

  “Going back to the train?” Brionne’s tone was polite. “This is a rough town. Maybe if we walked along together there would be less chance of trouble.”

  The man started to protest. “Now, see here!”

  “Just start walking,” Brionne said. “I have been shot at once tonight, and if anybody is going to try it again, we’ll let them shoot at both of us.”

  Slowly, the man edged toward the door, then stepped out. “I am a dead shot, my friend,” Brionne said, “so walk carefully. If you stumbled I might make a mistake and shoot you.”

  Scarcely a head turned as they left. Brionne’s gun was held close, invisible to the eyes of those who glanced their way. Their slow parade down the center of the street and back to the train was not interrupted. At the train, Brionne said, “Turn around, my friend. I want to thank you for escorting my son and myself. There is no telling what might have happened without you along for company. I wonder who could be wanting to shoot me? Have you any ideas?”

  “How should I know?”

  The conductor came hurrying toward them, but hesitated when he saw Brionne. “Better get aboard, gentlemen. We are leaving in a few minutes.”

  “Is everyone aboard?” Brionne asked.

  “Well…almost. There’s been some delay, but I’m sure they’ll all get here.”

  “Is it the gentlemen in the baggage car? Are they the ones who are late?”

  “Well, now…”

  “Let’s just have a quick check. You first, conductor.”

  It took them a minute to walk through the two cars. No one was missing. Dutton Mowry, already slumped in his seat prepared for sleep, eyed them curiously as they walked down the car.

  “No one missing,” Brionne commented pleasantly, “so there’s nothing to keep us, is there, conductor? Suppose you give them the high-ball?”

  “Now, just a minute!” The conductor’s protest was silenced when he saw the gun.

  “Give them the signal, conductor, and if there are any complaints, I will stand responsible. I am Major James Brionne, and I think you will find your superiors will know me.”

  “Well, if you put it that way, I—”

  “I have put it that way, conductor. We have delayed too long.”

  Reluctantly, the conductor stepped down and gave the signal. The whistle tooted and the cars jangled as the engine took up the slack. From the direction of town Brionne saw several dark figures sprinting toward the station. The conductor saw them, too.

  “Too bad,” Brionne said pleasantly. “They’re going to be late.”

  The train started to move, rolled a bit faster, the whistle blew again. Under the train the rail ends began to clack and the cars creaked.

  The men shouted, but the train continued to roll. Brionne lifted a hand and waved.

  “Conductor, you may know this man.” Brionne indicated his prisoner. “If you do, please persuade him that I wish to be left alone. I have no axes to grind, but I have no desire to be shot at. The next time shooting starts, if he is in the vicinity, I shall shoot him first.”

  “I don’t want any trouble on my train,” the conductor protested.

  “And neither do I. My son and I are coming west because we love peace…and quiet.

  “As for you, conductor, I imagine you will be very busy thinking up explanations to cover your rather peculiar association with those gentlemen back there, and to show why their horses are in the baggage car.”

  He indicated the door, and they entered the coach. The conductor and the other man walked forward; Brionne dropped into the seat beside Mat.

  “Pa, were those men back there the ones who shot at you?”

  “It’s a reasonable assumption, Mat.”

  “But why?”

  Brionne shrugged. “Mistaken identity perhaps. Or they might think I am doing some investigation for the government. There are people who know that I am close to Grant, and there have been some people who are stealing from the government, who may think that I am coming out to uncover their crimes.…

  “Being shot at is distasteful,” he added. “I hope we shall have no more of it, whatever the cause.”

  “What will those men do?” Mat asked.

  “Catch the next train, I suppose. Now you’d better get some sleep. We have a long ride ahead.”

  *

  PROMONTORY WAS A row of weather-beaten shacks and tents facing the railroad. A sign proclaimed PACIFIC HOTEL: Soda Water. Next door was the Echo Bakery & Restaurant, Meals At All Hours. Further along were the Palace Saloon and the Sunny Side Hotel, which was a tent.

  “We won’t stay here,” Brionne said.

  Dutton Mowry came up and paused beside them. “You huntin’ a horse? That there livery stable yonder usually has some good stock. I’m headin’ thataway.”

  They walked along together. The street was dusty and crowded. Dozens of horses stood at the hitching rails in front of the saloons and hotels. There were many idlers, but there were few women.

  The hostler looked up as they drew near. He threw a hard glance at Mowry. “You back again? Never did see a man who did so much runnin’ around.”

  Mowry grinned at him. “Don’t worry, Pat. I’m fixin’ to light. I need a horse. So do these folks—and Pat, they’re friends of mine.”r />
  Pat got up and led them back into the corral. Brionne walked out and the horses started to move. He watched them for a minute. “That all you’ve got?”

  “Well,” Pat said, “you can’t ride more’n one at a time, can you? Yep, that’s the lot.”

  “All right, I’ll take the buckskin gelding with the black mane and the little dun.”

  Brionne had been watching the horses, and his son as well. He had seen how Mat’s eyes singled out the dun, and how the boy unconsciously moved toward the horse. The dun, far from being shy, pricked up its ears at the boy and stretched an inquisitive nose toward him.

  Brionne also chose two sturdy-looking older horses for pack animals.

  “What d’you want for the roan?” Mowry asked. “The big one?”

  When they were back indoors and the deals were completed, Brionne looked across the desk at Pat. “And you forget you saw me, will you?” he said. “And anything else about me.”

  Pat gave him a surprised look. “You on the dodge? You sure don’t look it.”

  “He ain’t on the dodge,” Mowry said, “you take it from me, but there’s likely some folks comin’ in on the train tomorrow who will be askin’ questions.”

  “I don’t know anything about you,” Pat agreed. “I ain’t seen nor heard of you.”

  They started back up the street, leaving the horses at the stable. At the nearest store Brionne bought a few items—some ammunition, bacon, flour, coffee, sugar, and canned goods, enough for several days. After packing it back to the livery stable he came back and at a second store bought another order of equal size.

  He had stepped out on the street when he saw Miranda Loften. She was standing a few yards away, and two men stood in front of her. It was obvious that they had stopped her, and it was equally obvious that they had been drinking.

  Brionne swung the two heavy sacks to the boardwalk. “Watch these, Mat. I will be right back.”

  He strolled up to where the girl was confronted by the two men. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said gently, and taking her by the elbow, started away.