Die with the Outlaws

by William W. Johnstone; J. A. Johnstone

  “Hello, Mrs. Goodbody. What’s on your mind?” he asked as she and the other two women stormed through the restaurant, stopping at his table.

  “This!” Mrs. Goodbody said, dropping the newspaper on the table. It was folded in such a way as to show the article about Jim and Mary Ella. “How dare you write such a glowing article about this . . . this perfectly disgusting event that is going to take place out at the Circle Dot next Thursday? I don’t know what to call it when a man and his whore make some sort of public declaration that they are going to live together, but you certainly cannot call it a wedding.”

  “Am I to take it by your comment that you won’t be coming to the marriage ceremony? Would you like me to give them your regrets?” Art asked.

  “What? Why . . . I never!” Mrs. Goodbody exclaimed angrily. “Come, ladies!”

  The three women turned sharply, then walked briskly from the restaurant with as sour an expression on their faces as they had been wearing when they came in.

  Art couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “Good for you!” a young woman’s voice said, and she augmented her comment by applauding lightly.

  Looking up, Art saw Jennie Lou Jones—or at least, that was the name she was known by at the Pair O’ Dice.

  “Hello, Jennie Lou. If you are here for dinner, I would love to share my table with you. I don’t often get to eat with a pretty young woman.”

  “Thank you. I’ve already eaten, but I would be happy to sit with you for a minute or two. And you don’t even have to buy me a drink,” she added with a broad smile.

  “Your company is always pleasant, Jennie Lou, whether I have to buy you a drink or not.”

  She chuckled. “Why, thank you. And thank you for writing that story about Mary Ella and Mr. Andrews.”

  “They’re good people, and I was pleased to do so.”

  “I don’t think, no, I know that the average person has no idea what a good person Mary Ella is. Why, I’ve seen her write letters for poor cowboys who don’t know how to read or write. And last year when Linda was sick and nobody would go into her room because they were afraid they would catch it, why, Mary Ella took her food and stayed in her room to take care of her.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard of some of the good deeds she has done,” Art said. “And I know that she helped some people of the town without them even knowing she had helped. Mary Ella came to the newspaper office with money for me to give without letting anyone know where it came from.”

  Art was silent for a moment. “The bitter irony of that story is that, in some cases, the people she helped in such a way are the very people who are turning against her now.”

  “You should tell them what Mary Ella has done for them.”

  Art shook his head. “No, Marry Ella asked me to keep it secret, and I won’t betray her confidence.”

  “Mr. Walhausen, are you going to the wedding on Thursday?” Jennie Lou asked.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Would you please take me with you?”

  Art smiled. “Why, Miss Jones, I would be pleased to take you with me.”

  * * *

  On the day of the wedding, Hugh and Lisa drove over to the Circle Dot in the surrey. Matt rode Spirit alongside them, and Ed Sanders, LeRoy Patterson, and Jake Haverkost followed in the wagon that hauled the piano. Because they were bringing the piano and Hugh was going to play for the wedding, they were practically the first ones to arrive. Joey Dunaway had gotten there earlier and he came out to meet them.

  “Good, you did bring the piano! Me ’n Mr. Andrews built a little platform where we can put it, ’n I’ll help you unload it.”

  “Thanks, Joey, we can handle it,” Ed said. “You just show us where this platform is, and tell us how close we can get the wagon to it.”

  “Why, you can back right up to it with no problem a-tall. Come on. I’ll show you.”

  “While you men get the piano unloaded, I’m going to go see if Mary Ella needs any help,” Lisa said.

  * * *

  The bride to be was sitting at the dresser, and she greeted Lisa with a warm smile. “Thanks for coming early.”

  “We had to come early to get the piano in place, but I would have wanted to come early anyway. Oh, Mary Ella, you look beautiful!”

  “Thank you. It’s not the traditional wedding dress.” Mary Ella chuckled. “But then, what is traditional about this marriage? No church full of people, that’s for sure.”

  “No church, that’s true, but you are going to have a lot of guests today. I’ve already spoken with many of them.”

  “Is it safe to assume that Mrs. Goodbody won’t be one of them?”

  Lisa laughed. “Yes, I think that would be a safe assumption.”

  * * *

  Guests began arriving over the next hour, mostly from the neighboring ranches and farms, but there were a few from town. Art Walhausen arrived not only with Jennie Lou but also with Lonnie Cheatum and Missy Crews from the Pair O’ Dice. To the surprise of several, Sheriff Clark arrived as well.

  It was no surprise that neither Kennedy nor O’Neil nor any of the Regulators arrived, but it was a surprise to see Colleen O’Neil, who arrived with Cooter Gregory.

  “Miss O’Neil, you have come?” Lisa said.

  “If my being here will make everyone uncomfortable, I’ll leave,” Colleen said. “But I saw the story in the paper, and I thought I would like to come and offer them my best wishes.”

  Lisa smiled. “You’re welcome, and so is Mr. Gregory.”

  “Thank you,” Colleen said, the expression in her voice showing her relief at being welcomed.

  For the first several minutes, the ranchers and farmers discussed the current situation.

  “This will be my last gathering,” said Sylvester Malcolm, one of the area farmers.

  “Sylvester, no. Try to stick it out just a little longer,” Gerald Kelly said. “Things are going to get better. I know they will.”

  “I’ve got no way to stick it out, Gerald,” Sylvester said. “My wheat was destroyed, and I don’t have time left to get in another crop. I’ve got a wife and two kids to support, and I’ve got no way of making a living.”

  “Stick around, please. I’m sure we can work something out,” Gerald said.

  Malcolm shook his head. “I won’t take charity. I don’t take money I haven’t earned.”

  “Earn it, then, by working for us,” Darrel Pollard suggested.

  “Darrel, you’ve already got three men working for you. I know you can’t afford another one.”

  “No, when I say us, I mean us,” Pollard said, taking in everyone else with a circle of his hand. “Work for me a little, work for Travis some, work for Gerald. We’ll spread you around, and that way you won’t cost any of us too much, but you could make enough to hold on until you get your next crop in.”

  “You men would all go along with something like that?” Sylvester asked.

  “Yeah, I would,” Poindexter said, and every other rancher present agreed.

  “That would be very good of you all to do that.”

  “That’s what neighbors are for, isn’t it?” Poindexter asked.

  “So now the question is, will you do it? Will you stick around and work for us?” Kelly asked.

  A broad, happy smile spread across Malcolm’s face. “Yes! Yes, I’ll do it! And thank you, men. I thank you, and Marjane will thank you, too, as soon as I tell her.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen, if you would all find a seat, Hugh Conway is going to honor us with some music before the ceremony gets underway,” Art Walhausen called out to the others.

  When all were seated and quiet, he stepped out in front of the assembly. “And now, if you would, join me in welcoming Professor Hugh Conway.”

  Art stepped to one side and began to applaud. The others applauded as well, the applause polite but not exuberant.

  “Oh, my, would you look at him?” Jennie Lou said as Hugh stepped out from the house. “I’ve seen him many times, but I neve
r had any idea he was such a handsome man.”

  What had drawn that response was the way Hugh was dressed. Though most who knew him were used to seeing him in denim and work shirts, the same apparel that they wore, today he was wearing a cut-a-way and tails, with white tie and a silver silk vest.

  Hugh bowed to the audience, then, with a practiced sweep of his tails, took his seat on the piano bench. He stared at the keyboard for a moment, then, with a flourish, began playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 3.

  Most were used to hearing the piano at the Pair O’ Dice or the Wild Hog. But the music coming from this piano was so rich and deep that it was almost as great as the difference between the voice of a solitary singer and a full chorus.

  Matt looked over at Lisa and could see by the gleam in her eyes and the expression on her face how much she was enjoying it and how proud she was of her husband. Having the concert in conjunction with the wedding had been Lisa’s idea, and the reaction of the others told Matt that it was a very good one.

  If the applause had been rather restrained when Hugh first made his appearance, it was loud and enthusiastic at the conclusion of the piece. He stood, and with a broad smile on his face, bowed to the audience. Then he sat back down and played Mendelssohn’s Wedding March.

  Mary Ella came up the aisle between the seats on the arm of Lonnie Cheatum.

  Some might have questioned her choice of Lonnie as a surrogate to “give away” the bride, but Matt didn’t. He knew Lonnie as a good man who didn’t mistreat the women who worked for him.

  Jim stepped to meet them, then rather ceremoniously, Lonnie took Mary Ella’s hand from his arm and gave it to the man who would be her husband.

  Art stepped out to address the gathering again. “Ladies and gentlemen, as you are already aware, a unique set of circumstances have prevented Jim and Mary Ella from having a conventional wedding. However, they have something planned that I am sure you will all be able to recognize as an affirmation of their love and a commitment of their lives to one another. There will be none who can doubt that this will be as binding as any church wedding that has ever been performed. I will step aside now, and let this celebration begin.”

  After Art sat down, Jim and Mary Ella faced each other and held both hands as they looked into each other’s eyes.

  Jim spoke first. “Mary Ella, there may be some who would suggest that the lack of clergy or a legal document would mean that we are not actually married, that a ceremony such as this, without some sort of contract, is invalid.”

  Jim reached into his inside jacket pocket and removed a document. “This document will take care of all legalities dealing with our cohabitation. It is a business partnership declaring that we own, jointly, the Circle Dot. It also gives us the right to sign for each other, to speak for each other, and to act on behalf of and for each other in every way that those who are married can do. In addition I have filed with the territorial government in Cheyenne for you to legally change your name to Andrews, needing only your signature to complete it.

  “That leaves only the commitment of love that is expressed when two people exchange vows. I believe all that is really needed to be married is for two people to say that they love each other, and if we make a public pledge of our love for one another, and if we say in public that we want to be married, then I can see no reason why that wouldn’t be so. Mary Ella, I love you with all my heart and with all my soul, and I want us to be married.”

  “Jim,” Mary Ella replied, “before I met you, I was what many people would call a fallen woman. I was ostracized by the ‘good’ people of town, and counted among my friends only those who were of my same station.

  “But then something totally unexpected happened. A wonderful man came into my life. That man was you, Jim. You looked past what I was presenting to the world, and you saw me, the real me.

  “So now, Jim Andrews, it is with tremendous gratitude and much love that I publicly declare my love for you, and state my intention for us to be married.”

  Jim smiled. “Well then, it looks to me like all we got to do now is kiss one another in front of all these witnesses present, and we’ll be as married as if we had stood up in church.”

  Jim and Mary Ella kissed.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Mr. and Mrs. Jim Andrews?” Art called out, and the others applauded.

  Chapter Twenty

  After dinner, a place was cleared away for dancing and, with Ernest Dean Fawcett, Frank Edmonston, and Travis Poindexter providing the music, the dancing began.

  The newlywed couple led the dance while Jennie Lou and Missy danced with some of the cowboys and Colleen danced with Cooter. Matt leaned against the gate to watch the proceedings.

  After a few dances, Hugh came over to the gate to speak to Matt. “Whew,” he said in an exaggerated whistle. “Lisa is a lot younger than I am, and she has about worn me down to a frazzle with all the dancing, especially with this formal wear I’ve got on. Matt, how about you spelling me for a while?”

  “Well, I don’t know. What does Lisa say about that?”

  Hugh chuckled and pointed. “What do you think?”

  Lisa was holding her hand out toward Matt.

  The first dance after Matt joined was the polka, and because it was a rather brisk dance with intricate steps, Matt felt no anxiousness. But the next dance was different, a slow waltz. Knowing that he would be holding her close to him, he was more than a little apprehensive about it.

  To Lisa’s surprise, Matt turned out to be an excellent dancer, and with him leading, the steps seemed to fall into place. So easily did the movement come that she found herself concentrating less on the dance and more on the dance partner.

  As they danced, he looked into her face and she found the smoldering fire in his eyes to cause a dizzying current to race through her. There was the tiniest trace of a smile on his lips, as if he could read her thoughts, but he neither said nor did anything that was, in the slightest, untoward.

  Concentrating on keeping her own feelings in check proved to be much harder than she would have imagined. As the dance continued, the physical contact seemed to grow much closer and more intense.

  The music ended, and the moment of intimacy dissipated with the dancers’ applause in appreciation of the music.

  Without saying anything, Lisa hurried over to the gate, where Hugh was standing with Ernest Dean Fawcett. Ernest Dean’s wife, Anne, had agreed to dance with rancher Tom Percy, who was single.

  “Hugh, I do hope you rested enough to have the next dance with me,” Lisa teased. “Or would you farm me out for the rest of the night as if lending one of your horses?”

  “I’m ready,” Hugh said. “Do you think I’m an old man?”

  Lisa laughed appreciatively. “Then come ahead. The night is young.” She looked over at Matt. “Thank you for coming to the rescue of my husband.”

  “And thank you for the dances,” Matt replied.

  As the next dance got underway, Matt turned to Ernest Dean. “Would you do me a favor and tell Hugh that I’ve gone back into town?”

  “Are you sure you want to do that, Matt? There’s a lot of pies that ain’t been et yet.”

  “Yes, I’m afraid I need to go. Oh, and give my regards to Jim and Mary Ella as well.”

  “All right. I’ll do that.”

  * * *

  As Matt rode through the night, heading back to town, he thought of the dance he had shared with Lisa, and he chastised himself for the feelings he had experienced. He would not put himself in such a position again.

  But wait. Hadn’t he made that vow once before?

  Straight Arrow Ranch

  “Did you know that Colleen and Cooter went to that . . . that wedding held over at the Circle Dot?” Kennedy asked O’Neal.

  “Yes, she told me she would be going.”

  “And you were all right with that?”

  “She’s a young woman with very little social life,” O’Neil replied. “That wedding was the c
losest thing to a social occasion we’ve had around here in a while.”

  “They aren’t actually fooling anyone, are they?” Kennedy asked. “I mean everyone knows they can’t really be married.”

  “It doesn’t make any difference whether they are legally married or not,” O’Neil said. “As long as everyone thinks they are married, and treats them as they are married, then it has the same effect. And that effect is bad for us.”

  “Why is it bad for us?”

  “Because Andrews with the Circle Dot, and Conway with the Spur and Latigo, are the two strongest ranchers in the valley. As long as they hold out, the others will hold out, as well. With Andrews and the whore married, it just gives him more reason to stay here.”

  “Maybe we should send Boggs with some of the Regulators to pay them a visit,” Kennedy suggested.

  O’Neil shook his head. “No, I don’t intend to connect Boggs with the Regulators in any way. He is here for our protection against Matt Jensen—and possibly Tyrone DuPont.”

  “Well, if that’s the case, why don’t we just turn Boggs loose on him now?”

  “When the time comes,” O’Neil said. “When the time comes.”

  * * *

  A few of the Regulators rode into town and went into the Wild Hog, where they were greeted by three of the girls, Fancy, Candy, and Belle.

  “Well now, tell us,” Candy said. “Did you boys go to the big, fancy wedding?”

  “What weddin’?” McCoy asked. “I don’t know nothin’ ’bout no weddin’.”

  “Why, Jim Andrews and Mary Ella Wilson got married,” she said.

  “I don’t never go to no weddin’s anyhow,” McCoy said. “I’m always afraid some woman might trap me into marryin’ ’er.”

  “Honey, I’d like to see the woman who couldn’t do any better ’n you,” Belle said, making the other girls laugh.

  “Yeah, well, what are you three talkin’ ’bout gettin’ married anyway?” Carter asked. “All three of you is whores, ’n they don’t nobody ever marry no whores.”