Die with the Outlaws

by William W. Johnstone; J. A. Johnstone

  * * *

  Matt had discovered long ago that one of the easiest ways of keeping abreast of everything that was going on was to monitor the conversations in a popular saloon. Of the two saloons in town, the Pair O’ Dice was the most popular. At the moment he was having a beer with Art Walhausen.

  “Mr. Jensen! Mr. Jensen!” a young man called out, rushing into the saloon then hurrying back to the table occupied by Matt and Walhausen.

  “Haverkost, isn’t it?” Matt asked, recognizing him as one of the two new hands Hugh Conway had hired.

  “Yes, sir, Jake Haverkost. Come quick, Mr. Jensen. They’ve catched ’im, ’n I don’t know what it is they aim to do with ’im, but I’m plenty a-scairt. Please, hurry!”

  “Who have they caught?”

  “Mr. Sanders. The Regulators has catched Mr. Sanders for horse stealin’, only we warn’t stealin’ no horses, ’cause them horses already belong to Mr. Conway. Mr. Sanders was just tryin’ to get ’em back, is all.”

  “Where have they taken Ed?”

  “Looks to me like they was a-headin’ toward the Rattlesnake Mountains.”

  “Are you certain that the men who have Mr. Sanders are members of the Regulators?” Walhausen asked.

  “Yes, sir, I’m real sure. I recognized Greene ’n Carter, ’n I know them two is Regulators. I didn’t get me a close enough look at the other ’n, but they ain’t no doubt in m’ mind but what he ain’t a Regulator, too.”

  “Purgatory Pass,” Walhausen said. “If they were heading for Rattlesnake Mountains, and if they were Regulators, they are taking him to Purgatory Pass. The Regulators make their headquarters there.”

  “Thanks, Art. All right, Jake. Let’s go.”

  “Yes, sir, onliest thing is my horse is pretty much wore out, bein’ as he was rode so hard for me to get here as fast as I done.”

  “You can take my horse, son,” said one of the other saloon patrons. He had been close enough to overhear the conversation. “It’s the bay tied up in front of Sikes Hardware, which is just next door.”

  “Thank you, sir!” Haverkost said. “I’ll bring ’im back in good shape.”

  “It’s more important you bring Ed Sanders back in good shape,” the generous customer said. “Me ’n him been friends for a long time. Ever since we was in the army together.”

  Matt’s horse was tied up in front of the saloon. He waited for just a moment until Haverkost had mounted the bay, then urged his horse into a gallop. Spirit started down the street as if he had been fired from a cannon. The rapid acceleration and the speed of two galloping horses drew the attention of the more than two dozen pedestrians who were tending to their business, unaware of the drama behind the rapid departure.

  Purgatory Pass

  The arrival of Greene, Toone, and Carter, along with a fourth man tied up, drew the attention of the remaining Regulators. DuPont had been eating some beef from a stolen cow when he heard the commotion out front, and still chewing the last bite, he went outside to see what was going on.

  “That’s Ed Sanders, ain’t it?” DuPont asked.

  “Yeah, it’s him, all right,” Toone said with a triumphant smile.

  “Ain’t he the one who beat you two boys up?” McCoy asked.

  “Yeah, but he wouldn’t a-done it iffen Jensen hadn’t held his gun on us the whole time so’s that we couldn’t fight back,” Greene said.

  “Why did you bring ’im here?” DuPont asked. “I hope it’s not just because he’s the one that beat you up.”

  “No, that ain’t the reason we brung ’im here,” Carter said. “We brung ’im here ’cause we caught ’im stealin’ our horses.”

  “They wasn’t your horses,” Sanders said, speaking for the first time. “Them horses belong to Mr. Conway. I found ’em ’n was takin’ ’em back where they belong, is all.”

  “Where at did you find ’em?” Greene asked. “They wasn’t just a wanderin’ around, was they?”

  “No, they were in a corral. All four of ’em.”

  “Then if you took ’em from a corral, you was stealin’ ’em,” Lem Mason said.

  “What are we goin’ to do with ’im, Mr. DuPont?” Lem’s brother, John asked.

  “Lock ’im up in the granary till I figure somethin’ out,” DuPont replied.

  * * *

  Matt and Jake covered the fifteen-mile distance from Rongis to Purgatory Pass in just over an hour, but the horses were breathing heavily when they stopped to let them drink deeply from the Sweetwater River.

  “Do you know where Purgatory Pass is?” Matt asked.

  “Yes, sir, I know. It’s right over there,” Jake said, pointing. “But we won’t be able to ride right up to it, on account of most o’ the time they got someone a-lookin’ out for people that come without being invited.”

  “All right then. We’ll just have to look for another way in so the lookout won’t see us.”

  “I don’t know no other way in,” Jake said.

  Matt smiled. “That’s why I said we’d have to look for another way.”

  * * *

  Inside the Regulators’ Purgatory Pass headquarters, Tyrone DuPont had made up his mind as to what they would do with their prisoner. Back out on the porch of his cabin about half an hour later, he ordered that the prisoner be brought to him.

  Greene and Toone, who were taking particular pleasure from the situation, brought the Spur and Latigo Ranch foreman out with his hands tied behind his back and stood him before DuPont.

  Every other Regulator was present—Angus Shardeen, the Mason brothers—John and Lem—Asa Carter, Isaac Newton, Luke McCoy, and of course, Toone and Green.

  Sanders stood before them all, obviously apprehensive about what was about to happen to him, but equally defiant. He glared at DuPont with an unwavering stare.

  DuPont cleared his throat. “Ed Sanders, as duly appointed deputies of Laramie County, we are about to hold court to try you for horse stealin’.”

  “This here ain’t no court,” Sanders replied.

  “It’s a court because I’m callin’ it a court,” DuPont said. “’N since we don’t have no judge or prosecutor out here, I’ll be doin’ both jobs.”

  “You not only don’t have a judge or a prosecutor, you also don’t have no jury,” Sanders said. “I seen me enough court-martials in the army to know what a court is like. ’N unless you waive your rights to a trial by jury, you got to have one.”

  “Oh, we’ll have a jury all right,” DuPont said. “These men will be the jury, and you’re even goin’ to have your own lawyer to defend you.” DuPont pointed toward Isaac Newton. “This is here is Newton, ’n he tells us he’s a real lawyer.”

  Newton shook his head. “No sir, I don’t know where you get that from, but I have no intention of defending him.”

  “Why not? You said you was a lawyer. Was you lyin’ about that?”

  “I wasn’t lying. I am a lawyer. But Mr. Sanders is right. This is not a legally constituted court of law, and no matter what decision this court might reach, that decision is invalid. Any attempt to apply the results of the decision would be a violation of the law. I caution you that such a contrary decision will put into jeopardy anyone who participates in the travesty, and we could all be charged with conspiracy to murder.”

  “You don’t think we should hang ’im?” DuPont asked.

  “I do not.”

  “Then it’s up to you to defend him. ’Cause if he don’t have no defense, there ain’t no way a-tall that he’ll be found innocent. What we’ll more ’n likely do is, we’ll find ’im guilty ’n we’ll hang ’im.”

  “Mr. DuPont, I’m quite sure that it is your intention to declare him guilty and to hang him, whether I defend him or not.”

  DuPont laughed. “You’re pretty smart, ain’t you?”

  “If I take part in this sham of a trial, even if it is to defend him, my mere participation will be bona fide evidence of my countenancing the act. And that would make me as guilty of murder as any
of the rest of you.”

  “Well, Newton, it don’t make me no never mind whether you defend him or not,” DuPont said. “It’s like you said, we’re goin’ to find him guilty of horse stealin’, ’n we’re goin’ to hang ’im for it.”

  Isaac sighed and looked over at Sanders. “Mr. Sanders, my participating in this would mean that I accept the legitimacy of this trial. And I definitely do not accept that. Also, you do see how useless any attempt on my part to defend you would be, don’t you?”

  “What you’re sayin’ is, they’re goin’ to hang me no matter what,” Sanders said.

  Isaac nodded. “Yes, sir, I’m afraid that is exactly what I’m saying.”

  “Then I don’t see no need in you a-doin’ it. ’N I’m thankin’ you for speakin’ up for me,” Sanders said.

  “Let’s get this trial started,” DuPont said. “Sanders, you was seen tryin’ to steal four horses. What do you say to that?”

  “I wasn’t stealing those horses,” Sanders said. “I was takin’ ’em back to the Spur and Latigo Ranch, which is where they was stole from in the first place.”

  “Jury, you’ve heard the charge that Sanders was stealin’ horses, ’n you’ve heard Sanders say he wasn’t doin’ that, even though Greene ’n Toone, ’n Carter caught him in the actual act of stealin’. So what do you say? Is he innocent or guilty?”

  “Guilty!” the others called out as one.

  “All right. Let’s get ’im up on his horse ’n get ’im hung.”

  Sanders’s hands were already tied behind his back, so it was necessary for Toone and Greene to help him into the saddle. A noose was hanging from the limb of a tree, and DuPont, who was now mounted, rode up beside Sanders and fitted the loop around his head.

  “You got any last thing to say?” DuPont asked.

  Sanders looked into the faces of every man present. All except Isaac Newton were staring at him with an expression of morbid excitement. Isaac wasn’t looking at him at all.

  “Yeah, I got somethin’ to say,” Sanders replied. “Someday every last one of you sons of bitches is goin’ to die. And when you do die and wind up in hell, I’ll be waiting for you. By then, me ’n ole Satan will be friends, ’n I’ll make sure you get a particular welcome. Now, do your damndest.”

  Suddenly there were two rapid shots fired, and the rope that hung from the tree was cut in two. The horse Sanders was on was his own horse, and it dashed away.

  Matt, who had fired the two shots, was mounted, and in position to grab the reins of Sanders’s horse as it galloped by. He stopped the horse just long enough to allow Jake to cut Sanders’s wrist restraints.

  “Let’s get out of here before they can get mounted,” Matt shouted, and he, Sanders, and Jake galloped away.

  “Haverkost, I was pure-dee hopin’ you had gone for help, but son, you need to learn a little more about gettin’ somethin’ done in time. You was about one second away from bein’ too late.”

  “Yeah, but I was on time, wasn’t I?”

  Sanders laughed out loud. “Yeah, Jake, I have to give you credit for that, you was on time. Barely, but you was on time.”

  * * *

  “Who was that?” DuPont shouted. “Who was it that shot that rope in two like that?”

  “Onliest one I know of who can shoot like that, other ’n me, would be Matt Jensen,” Shardeen said.

  “Matt Jensen,” DuPont said with an angry growl. “I knew it soon as I heard he had come here. That sidewinder is going to cause us problems. Big problems.”

  “What would it be worth to you to make the problem with Jensen go away?” Shardeen asked.

  “It won’t be easy,” DuPont said. “From ever’thing I’ve heard about him, he is one tough son of a bitch. Hell, we all seen what just happened. I mean him shootin’ that rope in two like he done. Do you think you can handle him, Angus?”

  The ugly little man tapped the pistol by his side. “I can handle him.”

  “If you really do think you can handle him it would be worth—”

  Isaac held up his hand to stop him in midsentence. “Mr. DuPont, I would advise you not to make a monetary connection between this discussion of Jensen and anything Shardeen might do, nor even to give an affirmation of his plans.”

  “Why not?”

  “If Shardeen is successful and Jensen is killed, a court of law could find you guilty of conspiracy to murder. It would be better for you, and as you are our leader, ultimately better for all of us, if you could avoid any such conspiratorial entanglements.”

  “That’s the second time today you’ve used the word conspiracy. You’re big on that, ain’t you?”

  “I’m just trying to keep you, all of us actually, but you in particular, out of trouble,” Isaac said. “You were a policeman once, so I’m sure you are aware that conspiracy to commit murder carries just as stiff a penalty as committing the murder yourself.”

  “Yeah, of course I know that. But I also know that if Shardeen has it in mind to kill Jensen, there ain’t no need for me to try ’n talk him out of it.”

  “How can you try and talk me out of it, when you don’t have no idea what it is I plan to do?” Shardeen asked with a smile

  “But I do know. What do you think we’ve been talking about?” DuPont asked, confused by Shardeen’s comments.

  “No you don’t. You don’t have no idea what it is I’m planning to do,” Shardeen said a second time. “Oncet Jensen is dead, you won’t know nothin’ ’bout how it was done, but you’ll just be givin’ me five hunnert dollars to keep me on with the Regulators.”

  “Oh,” DuPont said, understanding now what Shardeen was saying. “Yes, I understand. Now that you mention it, I don’t have no idea what you got in mind. On the other hand I do have five hundred dollars that I would be willing to offer as a reward for anyone who might come up with an idea to make things easier for us.”

  Shaking his head, Isaac walked away. He didn’t say anything about the conversation he had just overheard.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I’ll tell you the truth. I thought I was a goner,” Sanders said. He Patterson, Haverkost, Hugh, and Matt were sitting on the porch of the main house. All were drinking coffee and enjoying a piece of the apple pie Lisa had baked for the occasion.

  “The only thing I regret is that they caught me before I could get the four horses back to the ranch.”

  Hugh smiled. “You don’t even have to regret that. They came back on their own.”

  “They did? Damn, I wish now we had found more than four of them.”

  “That doesn’t leave any doubt as to who has been stealing them, though, does it?” Hugh asked.

  “They were being held in a corral that was out in the open, weren’t they? They weren’t at the Regulators’ Headquarters in Purgatory Pass,” Matt said.

  “What does that matter?” Patterson asked. “It was the Regulators that put ’em there. Hell, ever’body knows that.”

  Matt shook his head. “Everyone might know it, and I have no doubt that it is true. But I’ve been around enough trials to know that without any evidence to tie them specifically to the Regulators, we wouldn’t be able to make a case.”

  “So we just let them go?” Sanders asked.

  “For now,” Matt said. “But they’re going to make a mistake someday, and when they do, we’ll be right there. In the meantime we’ll make certain that no other Spur and Latigo horses leave the ranch until we are ready to take them down to Bitter Creek to ship them off to market.”

  “And don’t forget, four of them came back,” Haverkost said.

  Sanders finished his pie then pushed the empty plate away. “All right, boys, we can’t lollygag around here for the rest of the day. Come on. We have work to do.”

  “Come on, Mr. Sanders, I saved your life,” Haverkost said with a big smile. “You ought to give me the rest of the day off for that.”

  “Son, I’ll be workin’ you so hard over the next few days that you’ll be wishin’ you had be
en ten seconds slower,” Sanders said.

  Haverkost gave a good-natured groan, and the others laughed as the three hands left the house.

  “Thank you, Matt,” Lisa said, putting her hand on Matt’s. “Mr. Sanders has come to mean a lot to Hugh and me.”

  “Indeed he has,” Hugh said. “And you have my thanks as well.”

  Matt was barely cognizant of what either of them said. He was too aware of the heat of Lisa’s hand on his.

  “Hugh, Jim and Mary Ella are coming for dinner this evening. Don’t you think it would be good to have Matt stay so he can meet them?”

  “Yes,” Hugh said, with a big smile. “I think that would be a great idea.”

  * * *

  When Jim Andrews and Mary Ella Wilson arrived that evening, Hugh met them, then led them inside. Matt stood as they stepped into the keeping room.

  “Jim, Mary Ella, this is Matt Jensen. He has come to help us.”

  “I heard how you saved Ed Sanders,” Jim said.

  “Really? News gets around fast, doesn’t it?” Matt replied with a smile.

  “Well, our place is real close, and cowboys talk. By now everyone in the valley knows what happened.”

  “That reminds me. Who is everyone? I imagine the situation here has people on both sides. Who is on our side?”

  “Besides us, there are five other families, and two men who are on their own,” Hugh said.

  “That is, if you count Mary Ella and me as a family,” Jim said.

  “Of course you’re a family,” Hugh said. “There’s no need for a preacher’s affirmation to make you a family. Frank and Julia Edmonston, Bob and Sandra Guthrie, Ernest Dean and Anne Fawcett, Travis and Alice Poindexter, and Gerald and Sue Ellen Kelly are the other families in the area. Tom Percy and Elmer Grant aren’t married.”

  Matt nodded. “It’s good to know who is on our side.’

  “I’ve heard of you, Mr. Jensen,” Jim said. “How did you wind up here?”

  “My sister sent him to us,” Lisa said. “He’s a friend of Duff’s.”

  “Duff? Duff MacCallister?” Jim smiled and nodded his head. “Duff is a good man. I moved out here from Chugwater a few years ago, and know him well. Any friend of Duff’s is a friend of mine.”