Bannerman the Enforcer 45

by Kirk Hamilton

  Yancey whistled. “Sounds like an operation that came from high up.”

  Morgan’s deadly eyes narrowed. “Well, the men who want it done aim to move into Congress and the White House. Money’s no problem to them.”

  Yancey looked thoughtful. “Suppose they figure to shut us all up permanent? They could have us hunted down like mad dogs and shot on sight.”

  Morgan’s face was grim. “They’re dealin’ with the Satterlees. They know damn well they’d never pull off a double-cross on us. We’d get every single one of ’em if they tried.”

  Yancey scratched at his stubbled chin. “What would I have to do?”

  Morgan nodded to Rick who brought out a cardboard folder and took from it a square of paper. It was pale green with dark blue lettering and he recognized it with something of a shock as a carbon copy of the Top Security message forms used by Governor Dukes when in touch with Washington. It would have a message on it that had come over the private telegraph line in the Capitol Hill mansion in Austin. And it would be in code.

  Rick handed the form to Yancey. “You know what this is?”

  “I know it’s from Washington.”

  “We want that message decoded pronto,” Morgan said. “It’s your final test, Bannerman. Give us the codes and we’ve got one hell of an advantage over Dukes and his Enforcers.”

  Yancey shook his head. “I can give ’em to you but they won’t be any good. They’ll have changed all the codes by now. As soon as an Enforcer is captured or retires or is invalided out of the Service, the codes are changed.”

  Morgan looked angry. He tapped the table with a stiffened finger. “Can you read that?” He indicated the green form.

  Yancey studied it, keeping his face blank. He scratched his head. “I’ll need paper and a pencil.”

  Morgan snapped his fingers and Rick hurriedly supplied the items for Yancey who looked up at Markham before starting to work on the message.

  “How’d you come by this? It’s a Top Security form.” Markham only smiled faintly. But Yancey knew it had to have come from the man who was supposed to destroy all but one of the message copies in the governor’s mansion. He was last in line for this green form and it should have been burned when he was finished with it. Only the pink form was kept for filing in the vault. The original, a yellow form, would also have been destroyed. At least he now knew where the leak in the mansion’s security was; it was something he should have thought of before ...

  He began decoding. According to the message, the President and an entourage of senators were coming to Austin on a special train that was already thundering across the country. It was due to arrive the next day.

  Yancey wrote out the message word for word until he came to the date of arrival. He changed that to the day after tomorrow. He whistled softly as he finished writing and pushed the form across the table. “Guess this is what you’ve been waiting for, boys.”

  The outlaws read his printed words. All seemed pleased except Cotton who looked suspicious.

  “We only got his word for this,” Cotton growled.

  “There’s no one else’s word we can get,” Morgan said, but his eyes bored into Yancey’s. “You wouldn’t be loco enough to give me a bum steer, would you, Bannerman? I mean, if this date is wrong we’ll soon find out and then you know what’ll happen.”

  Yancey poured himself another drink, his hand rock-steady. He sat back, sipped the whiskey and said, “That’s the message on the form. Like I said, they could’ve changed the code or part of it, like the arrival time and date. I can’t be sure about that. But, usin’ the old code, that’s how it comes out.”

  “Show me,” Morgan said. “Show me how it works.”

  Yancey paused with the whiskey glass against his lips. Then he drained the whiskey and pulled pad and pencil to him.

  He began to explain how the coded words were broken down into the message. As he did so, his brain was working fast, running ahead to the actual arrival date. If he didn’t come up with a logical code for the advanced date, he was dead.

  Along with the President and the senators.

  He had a feeling that the walls were closing in on him, backing him into a trap of his own making.

  Ten – Gunsmoke Slaughter

  Cato stayed in the canyon after seeing Yancey through the cabin window. The next day he was almost spotted three times. His first plan was to get clear of the canyon as soon as possible to avoid spiking Yancey’s undercover deal. But something made him stay on. He was annoyed that he hadn’t been taken into the big Enforcer’s confidence, though he understood the necessity for complete secrecy in a hazardous undercover assignment. And he was puzzled by the girl named Tina Gunn. The way she had looked when brought into the cabin by big Cotton Satterlee, there was no doubt in Cato’s mind about what had happened to her at the outlaw’s hands.

  Cato just couldn’t figure out how Yancey, under any circumstances, would stand by and allow the girl to be manhandled by Cotton Satterlee. It had bothered Cato so much that halfway to the canyon exit he had changed his mind and decided to hang around. He didn’t like the doubts that forced their way into his mind, but they were there and he simply had to get to the bottom of the whole affair.

  Besides, what would he do on the outside? It wouldn’t be smart to bring in the Rangers or the army; they would be spotted long before they reached the hideout and the outlaws would be long gone. No, if anything was to be done, he had to stay here and somehow help Yancey. Yes, and that girl. She was young and a looker. He had never seen her before and there was a sense of mystery about her.

  His horse worried him. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the animal was discovered at the foot of the sheer cliff where he’d left him. The spot was hidden from the main trail by rocks and brush. However, he had only loosely ground-hitched the animal so it could get free of its own accord. By now the horse would be hungry and thirsty. Most likely he’d already worked his way free. Maybe the horse was now searching for grass and water and one of the guards would soon spot it. If that happened, the Satterlee gang would make a thorough search of the canyon for the horse’s rider. So far he had been lucky. Maybe he should push his luck while it was still with him. He had seen Yancey taken to the main cabin some hours back and the Enforcer was apparently still in there. Cato figured that whatever was happening to his partner, there wasn’t much he could do about it now, for the main cabin was in the center of the canyon with no cover around it. But the cabin that had been used by Yancey and the girl had brush behind it. Maybe the girl was still in there. He didn’t have any plan when he started to make his way around the edge of the canyon towards the cabin; he only wanted to talk to the girl, wanted to find out who she was and how she fitted into the deal.

  He had a feeling that she was no senator’s daughter like she claimed ...

  The door of the main cabin opened and Yancey stepped out ahead of Morgan Satterlee and Zack Markham. The Enforcer had managed to convince them that he had followed the correct code and the President’s train would arrive the day after tomorrow. But tomorrow they would learn that the train had already arrived and he would be in trouble.

  “Beats me how you figure to get near that damn train with all the guards they’ll have,” Yancey said to Morgan and Markham as they walked across the canyon towards the cabin where Tina was. “Half the army’ll be riding with the President and those senators,” Yancey added.

  Morgan was flushed with rising excitement. Smiling, he waved towards a building that had log walls part of the way up, then canvas.

  “That’s our powder magazine, Bannerman. Don’t matter how many soldiers the President brings with him—they can’t fight a blast that sends the whole damn train plungin’ down into the Brazos River just south of Waco!”

  “Morg!” said Markham sharply, glancing at Yancey.

  “Forget it, Zack. Bannerman convinced me that he can be trusted. If he can’t be, it won’t matter ’cause he won’t be leavin’ here till after that
train’s blown up.”

  Markham nodded, satisfied.

  “Listen,” Yancey said angrily, “I’m gettin’ tired of bein’ cooped up like a goddamn prisoner! I had more freedom in jail than I’ve got here. What do you think you’re—”

  He stopped abruptly at the sound of a gunshot. Every man and woman in the canyon looked sharply towards the trail leading down from the rim. A man rode down fast, leading a saddled but riderless horse. The rider leading the horse rode towards Morgan, who had been joined by his brothers. The man dismounted and pulled the second horse with him. Yancey kept his face blank. He knew the horse was Cato’s as soon as he saw the rifle in the saddle scabbard with the oversized lever and trigger guard. It had a toggle on the inside of the guard that could be flicked out to trip the trigger, then all a man had to do was work the lever up and down and the gun fired. He could empty a magazine of ten shots in half as many seconds.

  “Found the horse wanderin’ along the trail at the bottom of the cliff, Morg,” the guard said. “There was no sign of anyone around.”

  Yancey hoped they didn’t hear his breath hiss out in relief. At the same time he wondered where Cato had gotten to. Surely the little Enforcer had managed to get out of the canyon ...

  “Chuck’s takin’ a good look around, now,” the guard said. “Do you see the queer lever on that rifle?”

  Zack Markham pulled the weapon from the scabbard and the outlaws crowded around for a look. Morgan Satterlee spotted the toggle and soon worked out its use. Markham fired off four quick shots by working the lever alone. The outlaws were impressed. Zack Markham then looked grimly at Yancey.

  “I hear you work a rifle like this, Bannerman. You and Cato, your sidekick. He used to be a gunsmith in Laramie.”

  Morgan Satterlee’s gun seemed to jump into his hand. He pressed the muzzle into Yancey’s side and turned to the others. “Spread out through the canyon and find Cato!” He looked hard into Yancey’s eyes. “So you were playin’ undercover all along, Bannerman.”

  “Like hell!” Yancey exploded. “If Cato’s here then it’s his own idea. You heard Markham say that Dukes ordered Cato to kill me. That’s why he came here.”

  Morgan looked uncertain but he didn’t pull away the gun in Yancey’s side. He watched his men scatter to begin searching the canyon. Zack Markham still stood beside Morgan, holding Cato’s rifle.

  Morgan said, “Zack, put him back in the cabin with the girl and stand guard over ’em till you hear from me, savvy?”

  Markham motioned with the rifle barrel and Yancey started to walk towards the cabin.

  “I’ve got nothin’ to do with Cato bein’ here,” Yancey protested. “In fact, if he is around then he’s out to kill me. By the way, can’t you get that damn girl out of my cabin? Put her with the other women or somethin’. She’s been cryin’ ever since Cotton brought her back and it’s gettin’ on my nerves.”

  Markham used the rifle to prod Yancey towards the cabin door. “Open up and get inside.”

  Yancey muttered under his breath as he opened the door. He stepped inside and stopped abruptly. “Judas wept!” he cried out, turning to Markham. “She’s slashed her wrists!”

  Markham lunged forward, shoving Yancey roughly aside. Then Cato leapt out of the shadows and his Manstopper smashed down on Zack Markham’s skull, driving him to his knees. But Markham was tough and tried to fire the rifle. Cato kicked the gun out of his hand and smashed him again with the Manstopper. Something crunched and Markham collapsed, his face bloody.

  Yancey kicked the door shut and scooped up the rifle. Then, kneeling beside the unconscious Markham, he removed the man’s gun rig. It barely fitted around Yancey’s waist and he had to use the belt’s last hole. Then he turned to Tina Gunn.

  “It’s blown up in our faces now.” He looked at Cato. “As soon as I saw you behind the door, Johnny, I figured we’d better make a move. They found your horse.”

  “Saw ’em bringin’ it down from the rim,” Cato said. “I got in through the window. Your lady friend still ain’t told me who she really is.”

  Tina brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “My name is Christina Wolfe. My father was Governor Marshall Wolfe of Louisiana.”

  Cato frowned. “He was assassinated almost a year ago, wasn’t he?”

  She nodded. “By the Satterlees. I’ve been after them ever since. After a lot of trouble I managed to get into the Secret Service. They didn’t think a woman could do the job, but I think I’ve proved them wrong. When we heard about Rick Satterlee getting arrested down here and Yancey’s plan to have Satterlee lead him to his brothers, I pulled every string I could to get assigned.” There was a flinty look in her eyes. “I’ll do anything to nail my father’s murderers.”

  Cato looked at her with admiration. “Even to puttin’ up with Cotton Satterlee?”

  She flushed a little but her chin was out defiantly. “I learned what I wanted to know. A man like Cotton can be made to talk about things as long as he ... gets his way ...”

  Cato looked down at the floor. “I dunno any Secret Service man—or Enforcer—with that much dedication.”

  The girl reached for the rifle in Yancey’s hand. “Give me some cartridges. Cotton is for me. It was his gun that killed my father ...”

  “We better hurry,” Yancey said, shucking some rifle shells from his gun belt and handing them to the girl. She expertly thumbed them into the rifle magazine.

  “Do you know the way out?” Cato asked.

  Yancey shook his head. “I’ve hardly been out of this damn cabin. It’s got to be one of the trails up to the rim, and that means shootin’ our way clear.” He picked up the candle stub in the bean can. “I learned that the shack with the canvas walls and top is their powder store.”

  Suddenly the door was kicked open and Rick Satterlee appeared, gun in hand. He took in the situation at a glance and jumped back, yelling:

  “Morg! Over here! I figured somethin’ was wrong!”

  The girl pushed past Yancey and Cato. She pumped the lever on the rifle and it whiplashed twice. Rick Satterlee was flung back into the yard by the impact of the slugs. Before he hit the ground, the girl was outside and the Enforcers were directly behind.

  The shots had alerted others and horsemen came thundering back to the campsite, shooting at the three running figures. Christina Wolfe braced the rifle butt against her hip and worked the lever like a professional. A rider threw up his arms and crashed from the saddle. Another veered away but his wounded horse’s legs folded and he was thrown to the ground in a cloud of dust. The man tried to get up and Cato shot him. Then the three made their way across the canyon, edging towards the horse corrals.

  Morgan Satterlee ran to the main cabin, shooting from the hip. Cotton rode off to one side after seeing two of his men go down. Christina dropped to one knee and aimed at Cotton, beading him. She fired but he disappeared behind a cabin and splinters flew. Cato jerked back, cursing as lead burned across his arm near the shoulder.

  Lead kicked dust around them and they were forced to run for the shelter of a cabin. Some armed women were inside the cabin. Yancey rammed his way past the door and fired as a shotgun blasted pellets over his head. He saw a woman spin away. Another screamed and fell to her knees, clutching at her bloody arm. A third woman ran out the back door, dropping her gun on the floor. Yancey dived for the wall where a hurricane lamp hung from a nail.

  “Hold ’em off, Johnny!” he roared, snatching wooden matches from a shelf. He lifted the lamp glass and turned up the wick high.

  Cato crouched by the door, big gun blazing. He flicked the toggle to shot barrel and the Manstopper kicked high over his head in violent recoil as it thundered. A man, blown to bloody rags, flew out of his saddle. The horse ran on, wild-eyed. Cato reloaded swiftly, ducking as splinters flew from the doorway. He swore as a sliver of wood gashed his cheek.

  Yancey soon had the lantern burning. The wick flame was two inches high and smoking badly when he lowered the glass. He r
an for the swinging back door and ducked back as someone fired at him. He dropped to one knee, swung the door open and triggered. A man staggered out from behind a pine trunk. Yancey shot him again for good measure, ran outside and sprinted towards the powder cabin, the lantern at his side.

  He caught a glimpse of the Wolfe girl on her stomach, shooting at Cotton Satterlee who returned her fire from a cabin near the powder store.

  Cotton saw Yancey swing the hurricane lamp by its wire loop. It made a whooshing sound as he let fly and it arced up and onto the canvas roof where it lay on its side, leaking kerosene. Cotton Satterlee ran for the powder store, shooting from the hip at Yancey.

  The Enforcer spun around as a bullet burned across his ribs. He knelt on one knee and put down his gun hand to steady himself. Cotton Satterlee pulled at the canvas wall, trying to shake the roof hard enough so the hurricane lamp would roll off. Yancey lifted his gun, gripping the butt with his bloody hand to steady it, and fired.

  The lantern shattered and blazing oil was splattered over the canvas roof and walls. Some of the burning oil fell on Cotton. The outlaw screamed as his shirt sleeve caught fire. He slapped at his sleeve as Christina ran past Yancey, working the lever on her rifle, empty now. But she didn’t stop; she was consumed with hate for the man who had killed her father. Suddenly she flung the useless weapon aside and hurled herself at Cotton Satterlee.

  Her wild dive sent the two of them against the blazing canvas wall.

  Yancey ran towards them but Cato hit him with a flying tackle behind the knees and both slammed down on the ground with a loud thump.

  The world seemed to explode around them. The earth heaved and slammed against their bodies. The sun and canyon rim were blotted out by a sheet of erupting flame, smoke and debris. Two shattered bodies were hurled high into the air, and a ball of fire scorched Yancey’s hair and eyes, blinding him.

  Then clods of earth rained down around the Enforcers, peppering the canyon floor and the bodies on it.